Times of Change
by YoukoElfMaiden
Summary: The Dark Angels have come back into existence. Now, the Spirit Detective Team must protect them from the evil psychic Hariato, and help these two best friends keep all worlds in balance. Co-written with Samurai, please R & R!
1. The Mission

This story was posted before for about two minutes, but I had to remove it because I'm new and screwed up on the summary. So that's why the summary is now kind of short and may be confusing. Anyway, keep reading, and the summary won't matter.  
The main idea for this story was refined by my awesome friend Sam, who then proceeded to become the co-writer. So, go us! You rock, Sam!

**Disclaimer: Neither Sam nor I own Yu Yu Hakusho or any of its characters. However, we do proudly own Miko, Kisa, and any other OCs that show up later.**

**_AN: _**Sam and I have already written about 8 or 9 chapters, as we only recently decided to display this story on fanfiction.net. However, any suggestions are still very much appreciated! Thanks, and please review!

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Chapter 1: The Mission

The spirit detective team, which consisted of Yusuke Urameshi, Kazuma Kuwabara, Kurama, and Hiei, came walking down the hall to Koenma's office. The pint-sized ruler looked up from his paperwork as they entered. "Good, you're here."  
"What is it, Koenma sir?" Kurama asked with a curious look.

"I'm afraid I have the most terrible news," he replied.   
"What's up, Koenma? Nothing could be more difficult than the Seven ordeal," Yusuke popped in.   
"If it's another mission to save the human race then count me out," Hiei added, annoyed. "I'm sick of always coming to the rescue. I refuse to do it anymore."

"You just watch," Kuwabara yelled in Hiei's face, "if you keep talking like that, when the Demon World is under attack, I won't lift a finger to help you."  
"Good, then we might have a chance," Hiei whispered with a smirk.  
"Why you-"

"Stop bickering you two!" Koenma yelled, making his pacifier fall out of his mouth. "As a matter of fact, it is the Demon World that is in danger. You see..."

"But how?" Yusuke interrupted. "The demon world is where all the bad guys come from. Doesn't that mean that there's always some bad guy from there killing people?"

Koenma cleared his throat. "Now if you would let me explain. You're right, the demon world is usually a wild mess and there's nothing we can do about it. But we've found ourselves in a very interesting situation. Hariato has threatened to destroy five levels of the demon world, if we do not give him the dark angels."

Hiei and Kurama both turned shades of white. They were suddenly right in front of Koenma, leaning over his desk, only a few inches from his face. Koenma, shocked by their sudden movement, mumbled a, "Um...yes?"

"Hariato!" They yelled at the same time. "Are you crazy?" Kurama took over talking while Hiei eased up a bit. "Hariato is a simple legend and nothing more. There's never been any proof that he has ever truly existed."

Hiei started, "Besides, even if he was real, everyone knows the dark angels were destroyed thousands of years ago." He started to turn and walk out the door. While facing the opposite direction he added, "You have simply gone insane. That's all."

"That's where you're wrong, Hiei." Koenma answered in an extremely serious tone. So serious it made Hiei stop and look back at him. "The dark angels are now back in existence."   
After a few moments of silence, Kurama asked with a calculating stare, "How?"

"Simple, two male half demon half human creatures had a couple kids with two female sprites." Hiei and Kurama both opened their mouths intending on speaking but Koenma got the first word. "I know what you two are going to say. Sprites have been extinct for the past three hundred years. But that is really only the cover story. The sprites were in terrible danger of truly going extinct, but my father prohibited it. He created a place where they could raise their numbers. Once the population started to go up my father let some sprites walk around outside the protected area. When two female friends went out one day, they ran into two half-breed demons. They fell in love and each couple had a daughter. One of the half-breeds was a wind apparition; the other was a cat apparition. Both the children looked like humans, so when the two couples were killed in a ambush of some sort, my father erased their memories, gave them new ones, and sent them to live with human families in a different dimension." He looked over at Yusuke and Kuwabara. "It's just like your world actually."

After another stretch of awkward silence, Yusuke and Kuwabara said in unison, "Come again?" Koenma and Kurama collapsed from surprise and disbelief. Hiei stood there and spit out a quiet, "Idiots."

After Koenma had gone through the story again, he was finally able to tell them what they had to do first. "Ok, once again their names are Miko and Kisa. You know what you have to do?" Everyone nodded. "Good, now get going, there isn't much time."

More to come...


	2. Meet the Angels

Disclaimer: We don't own Yu Yu Hakusho, or the NYS Earth Science Regents.

As you can tell, these first two chapters are mostly character-intros and exposition. The action _does_ get going in the next chapter, so just keep reading. Samurai and I love reviews, so please do so! :o)

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Chapter 2: Meet the Angels

"Hey Miko," Kisa said with her orange eyes cast downward as she came in the door to Miko's room. Kisa was a little short, but other than that she was an average 16-year-old girl, with an average figure. She had no real defining features. Her hair was layered, came down to the middle of her back and was a dirty blond with a tint of red to it. She wore a plain pair of jeans and shirt with a random anime character from one of her favorite shows. The only things that would set her apart from other people would have to be her orange eyes and dimples. But her hair covered her eyes most of the time and her dimples could only be seen when she smiled. When it came to Kisa, the only time you'd see a grin is if you were a close friend and you were engrossed in an entertaining conversation.

"Hi there Kisa," Miko said, looking up from her book. Miko was a smart girl who loved cats, just like Kisa, and also loved to read and learn. Miko was younger than Kisa; she was only 15, but she was a good foot taller than Kisa. Miko had dirty blond hair that ended just below her shoulders. Her eyes were a gentle shade of blue. She was, most of the time, a kind and generous person. Even though she didn't have a "bad" reputation, she was known to lose her temper if you happened to push the right buttons. However, Miko was usually a very calm and cheerful girl. But if you brought up a subject of interest, she isn't afraid to tell you how much she likes it. Miko noticed Kisa seemed to have had a more tired and wiry look on her face then normal when she came in. "Is something wrong?" Miko asked.

"Matt is acting weird again, and Dave…he...he..." Kisa clenched her first in frustration and gritted her teeth. Then she gave a great sigh and fell backward on the bed next to Miko. "What am I going to do?"  
"Dave asked you out again?" Miko asked the question as if it was nothing new, and it wasn't.  
"Yup." Kisa answered in the same tone.  
"And so that means Matt still hasn't noticed that you still have a crush on him?"

"Yup."

"..." Miko watched her cat that was originally on the windowsill run across the floor and out the door.

"I mean Dave's a real nice guy but he's just a friend, and Matt is just a friend that I wish was more than that." Kisa was now staring at the ceiling and Miko at the floor.

"You haven't smiled in days," Miko said, breaking the silence.

"I haven't had a reason to," her friend replied, still blankly staring.

"You've just had the worst case of bad luck lately." Miko got up to put her book back on her shelf, even though there was truly no place on the shelf to put it because it was so full already. She continued, "I mean, first your dad, two months ago, and now this." Miko straightened as she sensed a sting of pain come from her friend. She knew what she had said wrong and she had no idea how to apologize for it. Emotion swept over Miko's eyes as she turned to look at her best friend. Kisa had turned on her side, allowing Miko to only see her back. Miko said in her steady tone, "I'm truly sorry, Kisa. I wasn't thinking, I didn't mean it the way it sounded. I swear it."

"No need to swear, Miko," Kisa said still with her back to her companion. "I knew what you meant. And we both know it wasn't one of us that made my dad leave my mom and me. Why should I care, anyway?" Kisa sat up; she still faced the wall. "He never really cared about us." She turned and revealed dry eyes and a smiling face.

Miko diverted her gaze. She knew the smile was a feat in itself and had no real feeling behind it. "I can feel you crying inside. You really should let it out; it just isn't healthy."

Kisa's smile receded. "I don't see you crying about your aunt. She was a lot closer to you than my father was ever to me."

"I've mourned for her in my own time. She wouldn't want to see me sad for so long because of her," said Miko matter-of-factly.   
"And I can sense you're lying." There was a long pause between the girls. Miko was looking out the window and Kisa stared into nothingness, but they were both thinking of the same thing. Their thoughts had turned from the hardships of late and had turned to the question of how the two could always sense and know what the other was thinking. Miko was the first the break out of her thoughts. She turned to Kisa with a serious look and said, "I had another dream last night."

Kisa turned and looked her in the eye with an interested stare.  
"Kurama was in it and he was very handsome!" Miko giggled and turned a bright pink. She was so caught up in the memory of her dream she didn't even notice Kisa had fallen off the bed at her last statement.

"So, Miko," Kisa said sitting up again, now on the floor. Miko looked over at her and saw the beginning of a small smile.   
"What?" she replied with a big grin.

"You want me to call you later to talk about the sleepover?"

"Sure!" Miko's face was now radiating with joy. Her best friend was finally feeling a bit better, especially after such a long while. She was also proud of herself because she had brought a "real" cheerful grin to her face, which Miko knew was no small task.

"Alright, I'll call you." Kisa stood up. "I better get going. My mom hasn't been in the best health since the father incident. I have to make dinner or she won't eat."

Miko added with a little laugh, "At least she has the greatest chef I know cooking for her."

It seemed as if Kisa was in her own world right then and didn't hear Miko's remark, "And we have that Earth-Science Regents coming up real fast. I better study." Kisa was now walking out of Miko's room and headed down the hall. Miko followed her all the way down the stairs until they both stood in front of the door. She didn't care that her friend missed what she said before, she just went along with her new topic. "It's on Monday. Just remember we have the whole weekend to study for it."  
"I know, Miss Scholastic," said Kisa with a grin. "I'll talk to you later."  
"Bye."

Saturday and Sunday came and went. It was Monday morning and Kisa was hunched over at her desk, staring out the window. She hadn't slept the night before. The whole night Kisa had felt as if bad omens hung nearby. She sat at her desk and instinctively looked in the exact direction of Miko's house two miles away. She suddenly straightened up. The evil sensation had passed and Kisa somehow knew her friend had just woken up. 

At Miko's house, the young girl threw her legs out of bed and stretched. All of a sudden, she looked out the window, and her face grew pale. Then she got up and ran over to her phone.

Kisa reached over to her phone and was about to pick it up, but decided she would tell Miko about her feeling when they saw each other at the regent's hall. All the while she never stopped looking the direction of her friends house. _Ring. _The phone rang and Kisa picked it up. "Kisa! What's wrong!?" Miko practically yelled over the phone.

"Nothing important. I'll tell you later." Kisa's voice was a little hoarse but totally monotone.

"You sure?"

"Yeah, see you at the regents hall. Bye." Kisa hung up.

At the hall Miko was relieved to find Kisa in her normal mood, or at least the one she was sporting for the past few months. Now that her fears were put to rest, the only thing on her mind was passing this Earth-Science Regents.

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YEM: Well, there's chapter two.  
  
Hiei: What's a Regents?  
  
Kurama: It's an academics test they have in America.  
  
Hiei: Hn. I see Miko is another one of your pathetic fangirls, fox.  
  
YEM: She is (as am I, the person she's based on), and she may seem annoying now, but I swear to you this will not be a typical Mary Sue. Thanks for reading, please review! 


	3. Tests and Daggers

Disclaimer: We don't own it. Or the Regents. Or any lingerie shops.

Thanks for reading up to this point. If you're a Gaia-resident, you can leave reviews on the Times of Change topic instead of here. Thanks, Rayvnne! And on it goes...

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Chapter 3: Tests and Daggers

The next day, Miko held her pencil poised over her Earth Science Regents answer sheet. She sighed and ran her fingers through her frizzy blonde hair. _Last question…come on, I know this…_

Her eyes lit up suddenly. She smiled at the simplicity of it all and marked "A".

"Oh yeah, I'm good," she said to herself as she put down her pencil and stretched. Miko looked around the gym at her fellow students as they struggled through the test. Her gaze met Kisa's who sat in the row next to her; she had finished much earlier.

"Easy," mouthed Miko. Kisa gave a half-smile and shrugged, then went back to her doodling. She stopped for a moment, then slipped the scrap paper under the desk and turned it to face Miko. Across the top was written, "Kisa- anime form!" A sprightly anime girl beamed from the page. She had long dark hair and wore a flowing white dress. Miko grinned and wrote on her scrap paper, "DRAW ME!"

She showed the message to Kisa, who gave a secretive thumbs up and began to draw. Miko watched for a minute, then yawned widely. _Wow, I'm tired. __Must be this heat wave, _she thought sleepily. Folding her arms on her desk, she rested her head on them. _The test won't be over for another hour…I guess if I can even get to sleep, I'll take a nap. _Closing her eyes, she thought dreamily, _Maybe Kurama will show up…that last episode was so cool…_

Miko looked ahead of her, and saw a dark, barren landscape. No color stood out; nothing brightened this cold and frightening world. Gnarled trees stood like tormented souls, and rocks were hardly more than evil, shapeless lumps stuck in the ground. She shivered at how real it was, then a flash of white caused her to look to the right. A dark haired girl stood next to her, wearing a long white dress. A shock hit Miko…Just like Kisa's drawing! _She looked horribly serious with fear covering her face, which she tried but failed to mask. Uneasiness grew in Miko; she knew something was wrong. This was not one of her ordinary anime dreams, where she had fantastic adventures with Kurama or whatever. The girl turned to her and said urgently, "Miko! Where is everyone?"_

Then Miko was flying, the putrid air swirling in her face and giving her none of the pleasure she usually got from a flight. A flight? But I've never flown. _A strange chanting sound filled the air, something she couldn't make out. Then she was screaming, "Yusuke? Hiei? Kurama? Kisa! KISA!"_

Then she saw Kurama falling, falling with nothing to stop his gut-wrenching descent. The confidence and unshakable calm she knew him for had vanished, and all that filled his emerald green eyes was pain and desperate fear. His mouth was open in a silent yell for help as he fell…his eyes locked with Miko's, and everything else disappeared except their frantic connection. Then an evil laugh rang out behind Miko, and a nightmarish force grabbed her that refused to let go…

"HARIATO!!!!!"

The whole regents hall was startled from its absorption in formulas and calculations by the piercing scream. Kisa whipped her head around to see Miko slip from her chair to the floor.

"Miko?! Miko!" Kisa jumped up, knocking her desk over. Her anime drawing fluttered to the ground as Kisa fell on her knees beside her friend. "Miko?" The girl didn't answer; she only held her face in her hands and shivered uncontrollably. A teacher joined Kisa on the floor, and was about to suggest this heatstroke victim be taken to the nurse when Miko looked up. "Kisa?" she whispered.

Miko saw Kisa's face for only a moment, and thought she might have whispered her name before her world faded into darkness.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

In the center of town, two figures walked down the street. Although both were of the same race to any human who saw them, they seemed like they didn't belong somehow. One might think that they were just in the wrong place at the wrong time.

The first was tall, with features worthy of any movie star. His bright green eyes stayed calmly fixed on the way ahead, and his long red hair was tied back in a ponytail. The second was shorter, with shrewd red eyes that darted around much more often than his friend's, as if he wasn't at all trusting of those around him. His shining black hair was slicked back with copious amounts of gel. Both people wore blue jeans and leather jackets. One would never guess they were demons in disguise.

Kurama stopped in the middle of the sidewalk and looked around. Hiei, who was surveying his surroundings scornfully, ran straight into him. Scowling, he stepped hastily to the side. "What on earth are you doing?"

"Did you feel that?" said Kurama curiously. A trio of girls stood staring at him up ahead; when the two started walking again and passed them, they giggled and whispered amongst themselves. Hiei rolled his eyes. "As much as I could feel anything with every female swooning as you pass by."

"One of the dark angels said his name. This could mean trouble."

"I suppose it could," said Hiei only half-sarcastically. He glared at another girl who tried and failed to catch Kurama's eye. "I don't see why Koenma had to make your dimension form so damn attractive. All this attention you're drawing to us is distracting to our search efforts."

A small smile formed on Kurama's face. "Oh, is it?"

"Shut up fox, you know exactly what I mean."

Kurama sighed, but didn't change his forward gaze. "Koenma needed to make our forms in this dimension as close as possible to those we possess in our own. Otherwise, changing us back would be somewhat more difficult." He swerved to the side and stopped by a storefront. "Try to sense them again. We're wasting precious time."

Hiei nodded and halted beside him. He closed his eyes, and if someone looked carefully at the bandanna on his forehead, they might have seen a slight glow. Kurama watched him patiently for a moment, than glanced up. Three young women were coming out of the shop now, which just happened to be a lingerie shop, squealing in delight over their purchases. One caught sight of Kurama, who had already looked away and now stared intently down the road. She began to whisper to her friends, her voice audible to both demons' ears.

"Now, just take a look at that. Have you ever seen anything you've wanted a piece of more?"

Hiei concentrated harder, wishing they'd found these two troublesome kids hours ago.

The second woman giggled. " I dunno. He is hot, but the one with the black hair isn't that bad either. You know how I like the short ones."

Hiei's eyes flashed open and he spoke tersely to Kurama. "Hurry up, let's go. It's this way." He started forward; a well-built teenage boy walking in the opposite direction pushed past him. "Outta my way, shorty," he said rudely.

Hiei snapped. He grabbed the boy by the collar and pulled his face down level with his own. "I would watch what you say a bit more carefully," he hissed through clenched teeth. He then yanked the boy into a narrow alley with little effort. He slammed him against a wall and pulled out the dagger hidden beneath his jacket. Pressing it to the boy's throat, he smiled fiercely as the young human stuttered in terror. "What did I tell you?"

"Watch what I say! WATCH WHAT I SAY! Don't kill me, man, come on!"

"Hiei," said Kurama in a low voice, placing his hand on his partner's shoulder, "it would be unwise to attain a police record on your first day in a new dimension." Hiei shrugged off his hand and, after glaring at the boy for a moment more, released him and pushed him back onto the sidewalk. "I'll let you walk alive for one more day, child. And remember what I told you," he said quietly, his fiery red eyes blazing. The boy gave one final terrified glance, and ran off.

Hiei looked after him for a moment, then turned to Kurama. The red-haired demon had a small frown on his face, but when he opened his mouth to speak, Hiei shook his head. "No," he said in a calm confident voice. "I put that boy in his place. The people of this dimension are driveling, senseless idiots, and they need to be taught a lesson."

Kurama put one hand in his pocket and glanced up at the sky. "That may be true, but in order to find the dark angels, we need to survive this dimension. Threatening its inhabitants may not be the best path to take." He began walking down the alley. "In any case, let us try to find these girls as soon as possible. Hariato may start sending his own agents to retrieve them if we don't first. Perhaps as early as tonight."

Hiei trailed behind him. "Any particular reason we're walking this way? My Jagan pointed north."

"Yes, but I have a feeling that the people on the street back there may not want to see us again for a while."

Hiei sighed sharply and pushed past Kurama, who only smiled and followed.

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Kurama: /sweatdrop/ You let Hiei attack a human? 

Hiei: Hn. It was hardly satisfying.

Samurai: Yes, but it did give you something to do.

YEM: Eh heh. Feedback = next chapter! Thanks.

__


	4. Demon Room Invasion

Thank you so much to our wonderful reviewers, both those on the Stats link and on Gaia! Here's Chapter 4, hope you enjoy.  
**Disclaimer**: We don't own it, so don't come after us, Funimations!

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Chapter 4: Demon Room Invasion

The sun had finally left the sky and the moon and stars began to dance in the clouds of black. Inside the two friends were resting in Kisa's room. Miko was watching a _Yu Yu Hakusho_ video and Kisa was drawing random pictures while lying on her bed. When another picture was finished, the girl's orange eyes wandered over to where her friend was. As Miko watched Kurama wield his rose whip onscreen, flashes of her dream crept back into her mind. She shuddered as she remembered the desperate, hopeless look on the fox demon's face as he fell. But why couldn't she forget about it? It was only a dream, after all.

"Are you sure you should be here?" asked Kisa. Miko turned and looked straight into the piercing cat-like eyes. "Well if you want me to leave so bad you should have said so earlier." Miko said half sarcastically while standing up.

"Shut up. I just meant that you might want to rest at home or something after…well, earlier." Miko sat down once again. "I'm fine, I just had a weird dream."

Kisa raised an eyebrow. " A weird dream that made you yell out some name that freaked out the whole gym?"

"Um, yes. Did it?"

Kisa laughed. "Three people came up and asked me if you had joined a cult. Anyway, do you remember what you said?" Miko's heart sank. She didn't really want to talk about the dream to Kisa right now. Actually, she couldn't really remember what she had said, but did it matter?  
"No, I can't remember anything."  
Kisa sat up straight, with a thoughtful look on her face. "Really? I think it sounded something like Har-ee-a-toe..."

_BOOM! _A loud crashing noise came from somewhere up above them. The two girls looked up in alarm, then at each other. "What was that?" whispered Kisa. "I have a feeling it wasn't Santa Claus."

"Of course not! It's the middle of June!" said Miko, starting to panic. "What do you think it is? Should we go wake up your mom?"  
Kisa shrugged. "Maybe it was just the wind." _BOOM! _It happened again, only this time Miko could have sworn she also heard a yell.  
"There's someone on the roof, Kisa!" she shouted frantically.

Kisa jumped off the bed, rolling her eyes. "Fine, I'll go see what it is." She headed for the door, grabbing her shoes. Miko ran after her, the slight breeze causing Kisa's drawings to flutter off the bed.

"Wait! You shouldn't go up there alone!" Kisa continued down the hallway, looking over her shoulder at Miko. "Well, then come with me!"

Miko hesitated and slowly turned back towards the room. "I think I'll stay here actually. I can be…your lookout." Kisa was already down the stairs and out the door.

She glanced up at the roof, then began to slink around the house to the tool shed, where a tall ladder was. Once she got a hold of it, she propped the ladder up against the side of the house, near the window to her room. As Kisa began to climb she caught a glimpse of a face inside. It was Miko and she stared at her with worried eyes. Kisa made the "V for victory" sign and kept going.

When she had got to the top she looked over and saw four figures. There was two of average size and they each were fighting with an opponent. One of the other fighters was taller than the other one. Kisa watched in disbelief as the taller one, using something that resembled a rope, hit his attacker (the figure looked masculine enough for Kisa to infer) squarely in the face. The impact caused him to be flung into the air. Kisa followed his descent as he landed near the bottom of the ladder. As she looked down she noticed the figure seemed to almost dissolve and blow away in the wind. Kisa heard a loud smack, and looked back at the roof just in time to see the other figure hit the top of her ladder. The ladder toppled backwards; Kisa screamed as it fell, instinctively jumped away and landed safely on all fours. As she caught her breath and recovered from the fright, Kisa heard someone yell, "It doesn't help if you kill her, Hiei!"

Kisa looked up to see the taller person jump from the roof to land in front of her. His green eyes glinted as he looked her up and down, then he let out a small sigh of relief. "Good, you're safe. You must be Kisa!" Kisa stared at him, speechless. _Um, what just happened?_

She heard Miko yell, "You stay away from her! I swear, you put one hand on her, and I call the cops!" The shorter figure suddenly appeared next to the other. He glanced at Kisa, then looked up at the window where Miko was. "That goes for you too!" she yelled. He stared at Miko, then said quietly, "How annoying." He jumped with the speed of a lighting flash; at one moment he was still standing in front of Kisa, the next, he was on the windowsill glaring at Miko. He stepped into the room and Kisa heard Miko scream.

"Miko!" exclaimed Kisa in alarm.

"Oh dear," sighed the longhaired figure. Kisa began to run for the front door, but the man grabbed her wrist and said, "It would be quicker to go this way. If you would allow me." He swept the shocked girl up into his arms and leapt nimbly into the air. He landed gently on the windowsill and both of them looked inside. Miko was standing in the corner, holding Kisa's long abandoned softball bat.

She swung it in front of her a few times. " I swear, if you touch me, I'll kill you!" she said fearfully. She swung the bat again; the man's red eyes glinted as he caught the bat mid-swing. He easily pulled it from her hands, tossed it into the air, grabbed the handle and set it casually on his shoulder. He turned to Kisa and his partner and said, "We're going to have a problem with this one, Kurama."

"Hiei, put the bat down, please."

Kurama set Kisa on her feet as Hiei dropped the bat and stuck his hands in his pockets. Kisa looked between the two and blinked, as if coming out of a deep reverie. "Wait a sec. Hiei, and…Kurama?"

Hiei rolled his eyes and said, "Wow, she's fast." His eyes wandered to the TV that showed the landscape of the spirit world and was drawn to it. _It seems so familiar._

"Well Hiei, you must understand this is a very strange situation for them. We must handle it delicately," Kurama said serenely, his eyes closed. Hiei was now crouching in front of the TV, staring at it intently. A miniature Kurama appeared on the screen. Hiei turned to his ally and said, "Isn't this your fight with Touya?" Kurama came over and sat next to him. He studied the ongoing fight. Kisa and Miko walked and met each other in the middle of the room. Kurama turned to them and asked curiously, "What is this?"

"Well," said Miko warily, "it's Yu Yu Hakusho. And as you see this is the saga of the Dark Tournament. This also the second fight of the third round." Miko rambled on sagely. Hiei, now ignoring her, looked at Kurama and asked, "How do they know this?"

Kisa finally came to her senses. "Hold on a minute," she said, summoning finality into her voice, "you guys are intruders in my house. You are crazy people who think you are characters from an anime show. Now get out!"

"So, the people of this dimension documented our escapades into a TV show? Interesting," said Kurama.

"I guess," said Hiei darkly. "It seems like something dirty spies would do."

"Hello? Earth to crazy people? Get out of my house!"

"Well," said Hiei, standing up, "we found them. Can we go now?"  
"We must wait for Yusuke and Kuwabara, Hiei," said Kurama matter-of-factly.  
Miko stepped forward. "Wait a minute. You can't expect us to ever believe you are these people! I mean, they're just fictional cartoon characters!" The red-haired boy turned to Miko and gave what Miko called "the Kurama trademark smile". Any other time, this would have made Miko melt onto the floor, but now it just frightened her.  
  
Kurama said, "I'm sure you'll understand once we bring you to the spirit world."  
"Spirit world? Are you going to kill us?!"  
"I wish," said Hiei under his breath.  
Kurama threw him a warning look. "Hiei-"

"RUN FASTER, KUWABARA!"  
"I'M RUNNING AS FAST AS I CAN, URAMESHI!"

Kurama moved to the window and looked out. "Ah, here they are now!"

Hiei walked over and stood next to him. "Do you think they were smart enough to go around the dog house instead of in front of it?" A dog began to bark ferociously, and Hiei sighed in frustration. "Idiots."

"Get away from me, you stupid dog!" said a voice much like Yusuke's.  
"Spirit sword!" yelled Kuwabara. Kisa ran to the window and yelled, "Whoever you are, hurt that dog, and I'll make sure you never have children!"  
Hiei blinked in surprise at such a horrible threat to the male gender. Yusuke seemed just as shocked. They heard his voice from down below. "What the- who said that?"

"Argh! What are you doing, Urameshi?! Get this dog off me!"

Yusuke laughed. "It's probably punishing you for liking kittens so much."

"I resent that," said Miko and Kisa together. Kurama stuck his head out the window. "Would you two wrap this up? We are on a schedule!"

"Oh, is that you, Kurama?" said Yusuke, obviously surprised. "Uh, yeah, hold on a sec." He kicked the dog, which whimpered and ran back to its yard. Kisa clenched her fists in anger and said to herself, "I'll kill him for that."

Kurama turned to Kisa. "Kisa, don't you have a mother in the house?"  
Kisa shrugged. "She's probably drunk. She won't wake up for anything softer than a nuclear detonation."

Yusuke came in the door; he had heard Kisa's remark. "Yeah, I feel the same way sometimes," he said. Kuwabara followed him, covered in scratches and still breathing heavily from his encounter with Fluffy, the neighbor's dog.

He glanced over at Kisa and Miko, then did a double take. "Oh. Who are they?" Yusuke rolled his eyes. "Duh, who do you think they are?"  
Kuwabara grinned. "They're really cute!" He leaned over and took Kisa's hand. "Hey, I'm Kazuma Kuwabara!" Doing what he had learned from TV was the proper thing do when meeting a girl, he kissed her hand, then grinned up at her. Kisa only slapped him, disgusted. "You pervert!" Hiei snickered under his breath so no one would notice.

Yusuke turned to Kurama and said, "These are the dark angels, right?"

"Well, let's make sure," said Kurama smoothly, taking out two pieces of paper. He turned to Kisa, who was now holding Kuwabara's head under her foot.

"Kisa Turner: age 16. Blood type: O. A spunky tomboy with a confident air. Has past issues with her parents, and a fascination with mythical creatures, especially dragons."  
  
Yusuke nodded. "So, her mom's a drunk," he looked around the room at all her dragon figurines, "and she likes dragons. It seems right."

Hiei turned to her and said, "I think you would change your opinion of dragons once you saw my Dragon of the Darkness Flame."

"Now, now, Hiei, don't scare her," said Kurama. Kisa just rolled her eyes as Kurama looked at Miko and read off the second piece of paper.

"Miko O'Brien: age 15. Blood type: AB . An energetic, outgoing girl who is always ready to help friends. Loves to act and sing, but can get overly cautious and/or excited."

"That explains the bat issue," said Hiei as he stared at the ceiling. "All right, the whole gang is here. Can we go now?"

"Wait, we aren't going anywhere with you," said the girls in unison.  
"Come on, Kisa, there's a phone downstairs. Let's call the police and get these freaks out of your house," said Miko, pulling her quickly towards the door. Kurama appeared in front of her. "I'm very sorry, but you really don't have any choice." He bent down and punched her firmly in the stomach, causing her to pass out. Kurama caught her before she hit the ground and laid her gently on the floor. Kisa had jumped back in surprise when Miko was punched, and now she tried to get back to her. Hiei stepped in front of her, and when she tried to hit him he caught her fist. Kisa then felt a strange pressure on her shoulder, and she blacked out.

Kuwabara looked uncomfortable as Kisa fell to the floor. "I dunno, guys, should we really be hitting girls like this?"

"Well, remember that cat girl from the Triad?" said Yusuke.

"Yeah, but she was attacking us. Besides, she wasn't even a girl; you checked yourself!" "Hey, shut up!" He froze, and turned to the other members of the team, both of whom had sweatdropped. "Oh, yeah, you guys don't know about that!"

Kurama put up his hands and raised his eyes to the ceiling. "Believe me, Yusuke, I don't want to know."

Hiei walked to the other side of the room. Kuwabara looked down at the girls. "So, we have the dark angels passed out on the floor. What now?"

"Well, I guess we head back," Kurama said, checking his watch. He blinked in surprise. "Oh my, we really are short on time! Koenma expects us back at the palace in five minutes." Kurama stooped and picked up Miko. He looked at Hiei, who refused to meet his gaze, and then turned to Yusuke and Kuwabara. "Yusuke, why don't you carry Kisa? I don't think she wants Kuwabara to be the first thing she sees when she wakes up."

* * *

Kurama: Um...what's with me punching her?  
YEM: Samurai and I have both noticed that in many animes, people seem to be knocked out instantly upon being punched in the stomach. And since we needed Miko unconscious-  
Samurai: And your mom was coming to pick you up soon the day we were writing this.  
YEM: -We went with that.  
Kuwa: Well, I think it was mean!  
Yusuke: You and your honor code...  
Kuwa: You and your perverted ways of checking gender! 

YEM: Ummm....yeah, to those confused, see tape "Rescue Yukina". Anyway, thanks again to reviewers, and please continue to do so!


	5. Getting to the Hallway

Sorry for taking a while with this. It's the longest one so far, as you can tell. Thank you so much for your awesome reviews, and we hope you enjoy!  
**Disclaimer**: **We don't own it. If we did, we wouldn't be asking why Botan is so often associated with cats...**

* * *

Chapter 5: Getting to the Hallway

Memories of all different kinds flashed in Kisa's mind. One moment she saw Miko and herself, laughing and having fun, then suddenly it would flash and the shadow of a man would be the only thing in sight. _Daddy? Is that you? _she thought. The portrait of the figure in front of her looked as if it was being ripped down the center. The painting fell away it revealed a sandy road with a wall on either side. Kisa noticed that she was on a path of seemingly endless pictures and clips of her life. She stood up and decided to keep going. Staying still was never one of her best qualities.

She looked right and left and smiled to see all the happy times she shared with her friends. She saw Miko holding out her hand asking her to join the group. She saw Dave making jokes that at least made the rest of her guy friends laugh. She turned and saw a picture of Matt at a desk drawing. Kisa couldn't help but stop and look at him. He was a kind boy; he never meant to hurt her. She knew he only thought of her as a friend and standing there, she almost too easily came to grips with the idea and let her feelings for him disappear. The renewed girl turned and kept walking down the path. This road, she thought. Somehow, it's changing me. I'm only seeing the important things and putting everything else aside. Kisa, for the first time in so long, felt as if she had nothing to worry about. She was free and she was happy.

Out of nowhere, she started to hear voices. In her charitable mood she began to run down the path hoping to find the voices and try to help. She very soon came upon their source. She found two ghostly forms of her parents. They were yelling at each other and as Kisa arrived, her father caught a glimpse of her. He started to approach her and appeared to be yelling but she couldn't hear him. He had that look on his face like she had done something horrible, but she had no idea what it was. When he finally reached her, he grabbed her arm and pulled her into the air and threw her down the path. As she looked up again she saw him coming back. He passed by her mom, took the bottle that was in her hands and smashed the end of it off to make a dangerous weapon. He walked towards Kisa at a steady speed and as he came, her eyes began to shake and became moist. But she never shed a tear.

Finally, her adrenaline kicked in. She ran as fast as she could in the opposite direction of her father. When she ran the pictures reappeared, although this time they were all scenes of the times when her dad looked at her with that face. She started to hear her old screams of pain. She closed her eyes and covered her ears and continued to run blindly down the path. It wasn't long till Kisa didn't feel anything under feet. She opened her eyes to see that she was now falling down deeper and deeper into an abyss of darkness. She flipped over only to catch a nose full of what smelt like blood and rotting flesh. As she recovered from the smell she was able to see glinting claws and fangs reaching up to her. She gasped in fear, her heart stopped, and…

* * *

Kisa shot up out of a bed. She was out of breath and covered in a cold sweat. She looked around to see that she was in plain white room with a mirror on the wall that only reflected the wall across the way. She also noticed she was lying in a simple white bed, sort of like the ones you'd find in medical wing of a school.

"Ki…sa?" a voice mumbled. Kisa found it was only Miko in the bed beside her. "Kisa?" she said again. She was now rubbing her eyes trying to wake up. "Are you ok?" She yawned. "Yeah, I think so." Kisa said, closing her eyes and finally catching her breath.

"AHHH!" Kisa looked up quickly at Miko's cry, and at first glance didn't see her. Kisa jumped onto Miko's bed and looked over the far side. Miko was there; she was trying to ease the pain from the bump she got on her head by falling off the bed. "Miko are you alright?" she said, half-giggling.

"AHH!" Miko screamed again. Kisa got down in front of Miko and asked worriedly, "Miko? What's up? It's me Kisa!" Miko calmed down and looked at her strangely. "Kisa?" whispered Miko, with panic filled eyes.

"Yeah, it's me. Who else could it be?" Kisa threw back at her, totally confused.

"I don't know, but I think you should look in the mirror." Miko said pointing toward the glass. Kisa got up; when she turned and looked into the mirror, her knees almost gave out. She touched her face not believing what she saw. Kisa had found a monster in that mirror. Her body was covered in a thin layer of gray fur, she had cat ears propped on the top of her head, and her nails were now claws and her eyes were those of a ravenous beast. "What am I?" Kisa said aloud staring at herself.

"You look like a cat," Miko said bluntly, now that she knew this was her friend. Kisa turned to look at her, but Miko was playing with her hair and looking curiously aroudn the room; she had slightly turned her back to her friend. Kisa simply watched her. In the mists of fiddling with hair, Miko stood and started to stretch. While she did that, Kisa noticed two slits in the back Miko's long nightshirt near the shoulder blades. Nightshirt? She thought to herself. Kisa looked herself over to see she wore a pair of shorts and a spaghetti strap shirt. This was her normal nightwear; it was probably why she hadn't noticed before. Kisa looked back at her reflection. The longer she glared at it, the angrier she got. She raised a tight fist intending to break the glass. Before she did though, Kisa happened to see something move underneath Miko's shirt. Kisa spun around and gave an almost silent hiss.  
As Miko moved to another stretch two feathered wings smoothly slid out of the slits in the shirt. For the first time ever, Kisa felt jealous. Miko's wings only seemed to emphasize her kind and angelic spirit, while Kisa on the other hand, looked like a bloodthirsty creature. Miko finished her morning stretches and turned to Kisa, "What's with that face?" Her friend cast down her eyes. "Come on Kisa, you can't be that freaked out, you've seen me do my stretches before… oh, there's something else on your mind, isn't there?" Miko went over and put a hand on her shoulder. "What's wrong?"

Kisa suddenly looked at Miko. Her powerful eyes made her friend let go of her shoulder and jump backward a little ways. Kisa ignored this and said in a monotone voice, "You have wings." A very confused look appeared on the blonde girl's face. Kisa reached and caught hold of one of Miko's wings and brought it forward for her to see. Miko took it into her hands and examined it curiously. Her face grew brighter and she seemed to be overjoyed. Kisa continued, her tone and expression unchanged, "So what were you saying?"

"What?"

"What were you saying before you cut yourself off?"

"Oh! I was just going to say this is just a dream, so we should play along." Miko answered with a smile. "It's pretty cool, too," she said, her gaze returning to her new appendages.

_It's just a dream? Well in that case, I will play along. _Kisa made a new fist that was so tight it made her claws pierce the skin, causing some blood to drip to the floor. With her other hand Kisa grabbed Miko's arm and pulled her through the door and down the hall. Miko was unaffected by Kisa's constant tugging; she just stroked her wings happily. As Kisa walked, she discovered that her senses were keener. She locked on to a group of familiar scents. She followed them with precision around every corner until she came upon a grand door that also seemed quite familiar. "Is this Koenma's room?" asked Miko. Kisa didn't hear her question; she was too busy tracking her prey.

When she was certain they were inside, she kicked the door open to reveal the spirit detective team and a teenage Koenma. He was sitting at his desk, without his trademark pacifier. When Miko popped her head in the first thing she said was to Kisa, "I always thought Koenma looked great without the pacifier." The ruler of the spirit world, not so gracefully, fell out of his chair at the remark, but quickly recovered and sat up once again. Kisa, still in a rage, gave a little smirk, went up to Koenma and glared at him with her fierce eyes. Koenma began with a smile, "Good morning, Kisa. If you had waited a while longer I would have sent Kasmir-ugh!" Kisa had gripped Koenma by the collar and brought him a little closer to her. Jr's form shivered with fear as the half-beast glared at him. "How do I change back?"

"Well…I don't…really-but Kas-"

"Wrong answer!" Kisa yelled, cutting Koenma off. She pounded her first into his head with immense force, causing him to fly across the room, turn back into the kiddy form, and get implanted in a wall upside-down. She used her powerful cat legs to jump over to Koenma and pull him out of the wall. "Now, how do I change back?"

"Like I said, just-" Kisa punched him before he could finish; the impact made Koenma fly up into the air. As he descended, the monster fell to her back and used her strong legs again to catch Koenma, made him do a few barrel rolls, then kicked him up so hard it made him stick in the ceiling for a moment. She used that time to jump back on her feet so when Jr. started to fall, she easily caught him by the collar and recommenced punching him randomly. Kurama came up behind Kisa and said, "Now, now Kisa, I'm sure you don't want to kill Koenma." Kisa let her punching arm fall to her side, leaving Jr. hanging in her other hand. Kurama gave a sigh of relief, but was shocked to find her staring at him fiercely. "Y-yes?" he asked nervously.

She yelled, "Why isn't Leader of the Spirit World a spirit?" A ponderous look appeared on his face. "Good question," he said to himself. He also found himself hearing the all too familiar sound of fists hitting flesh. He looked up to find Kisa had made a silent jump to the other side of the office and begun to beat Koenma once again. Kurama continued to try and calm her down but to no avail. Every time he came close to her, she simply jumped over him. Miko, along with the detective team, minus Kurama, were standing in the corner of the office watching this obviously one-sided battle.

Wow! Miko thought to herself. _I never noticed how much more violent Kisa was in my dreams. _Kuwabara was standing next to Miko with a look of curiosity.

"I know Koenma is our boss and stuff, so shouldn't we kinda…well be respectful or something?"  
Hiei answered him, "Just shut up. This is the closest thing I've had to entertainment in a long time."  
Yusuke watched wide-eyed, as he admired this rookie's style. "You're right, Hiei. I mean, I've heard of dinner and a movie, but I could sure go for breakfast and a brawl."

Miko almost laughed at Yusuke's corny joke, then turned it into a loud cough.

Kurama turned to Yusuke and said, "Actually, for it to be a brawl, Koenma would have to be fighting back, and I'm sure we all know that won't happen anytime soon." Kurama continued, "By the way, will anyone try to stop her?" He looked around at all the blank faces. "Please?"

Hiei stepped forward. "I'll do it. Even though I would love to see Koenma pounded to death by a female, it would only lead to more work for us." Kurama bowed his head slightly in thanks.

Hiei stepped in front of Kisa, unsheathed his sword and placed the tip neatly beneath her neck. "Drop the toddler," he demanded; she obeyed. Kisa's orange eyes and Hiei's red ones locked on each other. Hiei was truly underestimating her; he didn't concentrate as hard as he would in any other fight. So when Jr. groaned below him, it easily stole his attention. Kisa took this advantage. She pushed the sword away from her neck and grabbed the hilt out of his hands. Hiei tried to throw back a punch, but it had no power behind it, so she was able to push Hiei to his back with one leg. She knelt over him and mimicked Hiei in the placement of the sword's tip on her opponent.

Suddenly, Kisa felt a sensation that she hadn't noticed earlier. She shivered and closed her eyes, trying to suppress her feeling. "Just like I thought," Hiei laughed. "You couldn't kill if you wanted to. You're just a weak female, with a weak spirit." He laughed again. Her eyes shot open; she rose the katana's hilt high above her head and thrust it down. Instead of hitting flesh the sword stuck deep in the floor.

"All right, you have spunk," said Hiei lazily from where he stood, about four feet away. "I'll give you that. But you'll never hit me with such a slow attack." He gave her a taunting smirk. It would have been more taunting if Kisa had been looking at him, but her eyes were unseen and she held the sword tightly in her hands. She pulled the katana out of the ground with no resistance. She slowly looked up, straight into his eyes. Hiei, along with everyone else, grew wide-eyed in surprise. This was no longer Kisa; this was a true monster.

When the fire demon noticed the change, he prepared himself. This would finally be a challenge. He watched her; he never even blinked. But that didn't change anything; she still disappeared.

"Where did she go?" Miko whispered. Hiei swiftly pulled the bandanna off his forehead. The slit that was revealed opened to show the well-known Jagan eye. _She's still in the room. But where? _he thought. For a long period of time, no one spoke. No one moved; no one even breathed.

Hiei gasped. He looked down to see a katana driven halfway through his chest. As he glanced up, Hiei found a face that he believed could never have belonged to a female. It was a face that had no mercy, pure hatred, and a longing to kill. The only thing that was keeping her from killing him was a metal chain; it was tight against her neck not letting her move. The rest of the chain was in the hands of an eighteen or nineteen year old girl. She had long black hair that was pulled back in a ponytail. Even though it was pulled back, her hair almost came down to her ankles, her eyes where a shade of violet and her skin was light tan color. She wore a sky blue kimono.

"Please child, listen to me," rang her soothing voice. "My name is Kasmira and I'm here to help you." Kisa slowly turned to her, pulling the sword out of Hiei's chest. "That's a good girl. Brace yourself now, this will hurt." Kasmira took the end of the chain that was in her hand and pressed it against Kisa's collarbone. A blue light floated over the two young women. Slowly, the beast returned to her old self. Her expression softened, her fur disappeared, and her cat ears moved down her head and turned back into human ones. Once she was totally normal again she collapsed onto the floor.

"Kisa?" Miko asked aloud. Kisa didn't stir. "Kisa!" She yelled this time and joined her friend on the ground. She shook her a bit and after a moment her friend began to push herself up. "Goody, goody!" Everyone looked to find a blue haired girl in a pink kimono. "Great job Kasmira!"

Miko's head tilted to one side. "Botan?"  
"Bingo! Good guess. Yes, I'm Botan; pilot of the river Styx-"  
Miko cut her off. "The grim reaper and a licensed trainer. Right?"

"Yes, that's totally correct!" Botan exclaimed. Miko helped Kisa to her feet. The girl held a blue stone that adorned the now smaller, metal chain around her neck. She turned to Kasmira. "I have a few questions for you."

"Go ahead child."

"Who are you? I've never seen you on the show, and what is this stone? And what happened to me? I saw everything I was doing but I had no control." She looked at Hiei, who was still standing by the wall. He had a hand pressed over his wound.

Hiei thought to himself, _That blasted female almost killed me! If she had pushed any farther she would have sliced my heart in two._ His gaze rose from his wound and found Kisa staring at him with a worried and apologetic expression. Hiei closed his eyes, folded his arms, and turned his back to her.  
A voice rang in his head, _I'm sorry._ The fire demon spun around to see Kisa's unchanged face. _I'm sorry I did all that to you. I mean, I usually don't feel a lot of guilt when I hurt or kill things that have threatened my friends or myself. But the truth of the matter is, you did what you did because it was the right thing to do._ She gave him a weak smile; he looked away.

Stupid female, right and wrong don't exist to me. What I do is simply based on how I feel at the time.

Feelings, huh? So you're not heartless?

Hiei glared at the floor, but admitted, _you are a worthy opponent_.

Every one seemed confused except Kurama and Kasmira, who had both listened in on the conversation. Koenma also had, though he was still stumbling around the room, recovering. After a moment, Kisa's gaze returned to Kasmira, and she began to answer the questions. "I am a master of magical artifacts and a well known researcher in the Spirit World. The stone is actually an interesting trinket created by your parents." The young girl gave her a peculiar look. "Ah, I see you're confused. When I said 'parents' I meant your real birth parents." Her face grew more confused. "The mother and father you've been living with all these years aren't your real parents. Your true mom and dad used their blood to make that stone to protect you before they died."  
Kasmira's face suddenly took on an expression of apologetic shock. "Oh! I'm so sorry. I should have broken it to you easier. I'm afraid your true parents died many years ago." Her questioner seemed unaffected. Kasmira turned to Miko, " I fear the story with your real parents is quite similar." The angel-winged girl's eyes widened, and she looked away in confusion, shaking her head.

The artifact master returned her gaze to Kisa. "As for the stone, it was made by your parents, as I've said before. That gem also keeps your spirit in balance."

"So it's true then?" Kisa asked with a sense of wonder.

"Is what true?" Kasmira asked.

"I turned into some kind of half-beast. A part-human, part-cat monster. Cats are one of the most feared predators in existence, so their spirit content is usually based on a neutral scale. But of course compared to the pure soul of a sprite, well, a cat is pure evil. But how…oh, I know! The way you've been treating Miko and I is the way you treat a boss when he comes over for dinner. Where you chat, make small talk and hope to be heard or get a raise. Or in your case some help." She turned to Koenma who had somehow managed to get back to his chair. "You must have put a spell or something on us to keep us from transforming in the other dimension. And that means that bringing us here broke the spells and the sudden off-balance in my spirit energy caused me to lose control of my mind and body, till the only thing left was the instinct to kill."

She spun back around to Kasmira with a proud and confident appearance. Kasmira was dumbfounded, along with everyone else, except Hiei who just gave an unseen small smile, quite impressed. Kuwabara bent down to Miko's ear and asked, "How did she get all that from 'That gem also keeps your soul in balance', huh?"

"First of all it was spirit." Kuwabara looked even more confused. "She said it keeps your 'spirit' in balance not your 'soul'. Well anyway, studying the dimensions of the soul, demons, spirits, magic, any of it, is just her hobby that she does in spare time." Miko smiled sweetly, fighting back the nauseous feeling she got from Kuwabara's far too powerful toilet water.

"Um, well, it seems you already understand this concept," said Kasmira softly. Kisa's face lit up as she found out that all the stories and ideas she read about were true. Then it looked as if something had violently struck her. She reminded herself that she had no right to be joyous; she almost killed two people, less than ten minutes ago. Her eyes fell to the floor and she grew very melancholy. The others, seemingly understanding she was reflecting on her past actions, didn't ask of her troubles.

Kasmira approached Miko and pulled a white gem on a golden chain from her blue kimono. "What's that?" Miko exclaimed.

"If you remember, I said the story of your parents was similar to your friend's. That included that they used their blood to create this stone for you, so-"

Miko interrupted quickly, "But what would I need it for? I mean, I don't have a problem with my spirit balance…do I?"

Hiei watched Kisa slowly retire to a corner of the office; he seemed to be the only one that noticed her movement. He sensed this and took the time to study this mystery, commonly known as women.

"Now Miko," Kasmira said consolingly, "I said the stories were similar, not the same. As far as I know, your stone's only active purpose at this point is it allows you to hide and reveal your wings with ease. A wind demon's spirit doesn't emerge quite so violently, it seems, even after years of dormancy."  
Yusuke smiled at his memory of a certain redhead wind demon with a strong punch and an accent to match.

Embarrassed at her panic, Miko's cheeks reddened and she busied herself with examining the stone. It's many facets glittered quite prettily in the…what _was _lighting the room? Miko glanced at the ceiling, but she couldn't seem to find a lamp or light bulb anywhere. As her eyes were on their way back down, they came into contact with Kurama's. He gave her an encouraging smile and nodded; she smiled nervously back, averted her gaze quickly and set to putting her necklace on.

Kurama looked over and was the first to see Hiei studying the girl in the corner; it was almost as if he could see right through her. The fox demon reached out to his mind. _Women are intriguing creatures, aren't they? _The one he spoke to turned toward him as if he hadn't been caught in an unwanted situation.

Stupid fox. That was his solemn answer. Although short, it was enough proof to show that the fire apparition, indeed, did not wish for any to see him staring at Kisa like he cared. There was a cheer from Botan and Kasmira after Miko successfully hid her wings, then Koenma rose unsteadily from his chair.  
"Now that that's done, let's…get started. First, we must set the foundation of your mission. We have to get a prophecy from the file room that might tell us more about you." The group of friends and oddly made acquaintances walked out of the office and into the hallway.

* * *

Samurai: Well, that got some things established.  
Kuwa: Yeah, well, I'm confused.  
Yusuke: You would be.  
YEM: Yipee, that chapter took a while to edit. And now its done. Phew. Hope you liked it and review please!


	6. Feeling is Believing

**Disclaimer: We don't own Yu Yu Hakusho.**  
Thanks for the reviews everybody! I hope you enjoy this chapter, written by yours truly. The last chapter was written by Sam...we called it _Getting To the Hallway_ because it took her over two weeks to finish writing it. This is just one example of our phone conversations during that span of time:  
YEM: "Have we gotten to the hallway yet?"  
Sam: "Uh.....no. Hehe."  
YEM: "SAMMYYY!!!"

* * *

Feeling is Believing

The spirit detective team, Koenma, Kasmira, and the two dark angels walked down the hallway. None of them seemed to heed the yelling and footsteps on the floors above them, as countless ogres went about their business.

Miko was still a bit shaken by what Kasmira had said in the office, and by what happened to Kisa. _Remember, this has to be a dream, _she thought. _It has to be…_

Even as she assured herself, there was a growing uneasiness in the pit of her stomach that seemed far too real. Trying to ignore this, she glanced around at each person, observing their varied behaviors. Kasmira walked beside Kisa, her violet gaze concentrating on the way ahead. Kurama walked with his eyes fixed on the ground and his hands in his pockets, deep in thought. Koenma veered slightly to the right every few seconds, still recovering from his fierce beating. Botan, who led the group with Koenma, gently steadied him each time, and only once looked back with some uncertainty at Kisa. Yusuke and Kuwabara walked side by side close to Miko, shooting frequent suspicious glances at her friend.. Kuwabara whispered to Yusuke, "That Kisa girl was really pretty back in her dimension. What the heck happened to her back there?"

Anger flared up in Miko, and she kicked at Kuwabara's ankle on her way past him. Ignoring his surprised squeal of pain, she looked over at Kisa. The girl's eyes were orange pools of pain and confusion, and watched the floor as if it was all that existed. Miko's heart sank as she saw this. _Kisa, you really scared me. What's going on? Can you tell me?_

Kisa looked up and met Miko's gaze, as if she had heard her questions. But she didn't answer them, and only broke their frail connection by averting her eyes. Miko sighed quietly

A black-cloaked figure caught her eye, and she turned her head to see Hiei walking a few yards behind Kisa. He was watching her carefully, his Jagan re-covered but still faintly glowing. _Why is he looking at her like that? _thought Miko; then she realized something. _He thinks she'll change back into that form again. Why can't anyone trust her? It wasn't that big of a deal. _She sighed and glanced at the ceiling, knowing that even she was unsure of herself. Miko's hand strayed to the white jewel hanging from her neck. Fingering it absently, she decided that she would talk to Kisa the first chance she got.

Botan suddenly swerved to the left and headed for a small closet. Everyone continued to walk another few steps, then Koenma glanced back. "Botan, what are you doing?"

The blue-haired ferry girl rummaged in the closet for a moment, then emerged with two white bathrobes. "I thought our guests might want to cover up their nightclothes. It's only proper, you know. Am I right, girls?" Kisa shrugged and gazed out a nearby window. Miko brightened and nodded. She looked down at herself and blushed. Her nightshirt wasn't exactly what she would have chosen to walk around a palace in. Botan handed her a robe, which she quickly put on. Kisa accepted hers, and the group continued walking.

Kisa was lost in her swirling thoughts. She couldn't stop the horrific images of a few minutes ago from flashing in her mind. Vivid pictures of Miko watching dumbfounded as her friend morphed into a hideous beast…Hiei's eyes widening in surprise as she drove the katano into his chest…the strange orange tint that had claimed her vision before forcing her into the back of her own mind. The whole time, she had felt like a helpless spectator on the sidelines of the whole incident. _What is wrong with me? What am I? Miko is probably terrified of me now…will she ever want to come near me again? _She clutched at the blue stone around her neck, and it glowed with pleasant warmth.

Koenma finally stopped at a large, steel doorway. He nodded at the ogre guard standing there, who flipped a small switch. With a loud creak, the door slowly began to open. "This is our file room," said Koenma. "We'll find the prophecy card in here, although it may take me a few minutes…or hours, to find it."

"Hours?" said Yusuke incredulously. "And it would take you that long to find a stupid card because?"

"_Because_, the dark angels haven't been of any importance for over a thousand years," said Koenma irritably. The door was now fully open, and the group walked in. Miko's attention was immediately drawn to the thousands of bookcases and tall metal filing cabinets around her, set up in endless rows. "It looks like a library I used to go to when I was younger. It's gigantic," she said aside to Botan.  
  
The ferry girl nodded. "There is definitely a lot of information in those millions of books and files. The entire history of Renkai and Ningenkai has been recorded specifically for this room."

It was at that moment that a blue ogre appeared from behind a file cabinet, which was already open and overflowing with files. "Ah, Koenma sir, there you are!" he said, relieved that he might finally have some help. His boss stopped next to him, as did the rest of the detectives. Miko and Kisa hung back.

"So, found anything useful yet?" asked the vertically-challenged ruler, going up on his tiptoes to look into the file drawer.

George the ogre fumbled with a folder he had been reading. "Actually sir, I did find this one prophecy card, but I'm not sure-"

"All righty then, let's have it," said Koenma briskly, swiping the folder from his assistant's hand. He pulled out what looked like a bright blue index card, and turned to Miko and Kisa. "Now you two listen up; this is very important." He cleared his throat, and everyone watched him for some impressive proclamation. He read, "First, take some flour and pour it into a large bowl….add sugar and a teaspoon of vanilla…OGRE!" he yelled. "You've given me a recipe for angel food cake!"

George started, Kurama smiled, Hiei rolled his eyes, and Miko, unable to help herself, burst out laughing. Koenma glared at his assistant, who was now rapidly muttering apologies and digging through the file drawer. Miko's laugh subsided into giggles and she walked over to the drawer. "All right, what are we looking for?" she said, peering into the abyss of papers. Everyone looked at her in surprise as she pulled out another folder. "Try this one," she said, handing it to Koenma. He blinked furiously, then pulled out a red index card.

"Well…uh, thank you." He coughed, then began to read. "The angels are of darkness and light; one is day and the other is night. They will either save life itself in hands of good, or devastate in hands of evil. At the right time and place, they will know their purpose…." He squinted at the paper, then shook his head. "The rest is blotted out. Well, that didn't seem to help very much. But if that's what we get, that's what we get, I suppose."

Yusuke looked at Miko and Kisa, both of whom had looks of utmost confusion on their faces. "Well, whoever decided to write about you guys wasn't much of a poet."

Miko glanced at Kisa, who only stared at the card in Koenma's hand. She leaned over and whispered into her friend's ear, "Kisa, I don't know if you're having the same dream as me, but this is getting really-"

Kisa grabbed her friend's arm and pulled her into an aisle between two bookcases. She turned to Miko, who glared at her and tried to say something before the orange-eyed girl broke in. "Miko, this isn't a dream! Don't you get that?"

"Of course it is! You want me to believe this is all real? I'm getting out of here now, Kisa!"

Kisa clenched her fists. "Do I need to pull your hair or something? _This is real. _When that form took over my mind, I knew this wasn't some stupid thing my subconscious thought up." She suddenly looked pained, and clutched Miko's arm. "Believe me, Miko. I know I scared you back there, but believe me."

Miko stared at her for a moment, then said quietly, "You can't prove anything. I just can't believe you." She turned and walked down the aisle, away from her friend.

Suddenly, a loud crashing noise came from outside the room. The girls looked at each other in alarm, then ran back down the aisle. They joined the others, who were all intently watching the large metal door. Shouts of "Intruders!" and "Attack! Attack!" rang out above and around them, muffled by the thick walls.

"Oh boy, this is just what we need," said Koenma wearily.

"And just what we should have expected," said Kurama, his voice tense. "Hariato knows how weak and inexperienced the angels are at this point, so he's going to take advantage of that and try to take them now."  
"Who?!" said Miko urgently, but she was drowned out by Kisa.  
"Take us where?" the cat demon exclaimed. "Will someone please explain to us what's going on?"

Botan nodded grimly and threw a glance at Kasmira and Koenma. "We have to get them to a safe place, somewhere at the other end of the palace." She grabbed Kisa's hand and Miko's, then pulled them towards a small wooden door.

Koenma ran after them, calling over his shoulder, "Kasmira, Yusuke, and, uh…Kurama, come with us. The rest of you, get out there and fight those monsters already!"

"Right!" said Kuwabara fiercely. Hiei watched the majority of the group run off, his eyes fixed on Kisa until they were out of sight. Kuwabara made for the door, but before he could reach it, a loud "BOOM" made the whole room shudder. The door shook as if someone was forcing it open.

"I guess we won't have to go outside then," said Kuwabara as he took his fighting stance. The door toppled inward and fell with a mighty crash, but when the dust settled there was none to be seen in the hallway. Kuwabara and Hiei made their way outside. Kuwabara looked around, confused. "Where is everyone?"

Hiei jumped at a loud whooshing sound behind them, and when he whirled around he saw a large shimmering force field blocking the doorway. He drew his sword and not a moment too soon. Three large gorilla-like monsters dropped from the ceiling and landed in front of the two fighters. They grinned evilly at Hiei and Kuwabara with yellow rotting teeth, their black fur bristling. The orange haired teenager stared in surprise for a moment, then laughed. "This big scary dude sends us oversized monkeys? Are you kidding me?!" He jumped towards the first apparition with a confident yell. At the last moment before his fist connected, the monster let loosed a deafening roar and emitted a reddish glow. Kuwabara made contact and bounced off, landing hard on the ground.

Hiei glanced back at the force field covering the doorway. "Makes sense," he said briskly. Kuwabara groaned, not noticing the giant fist falling towards him at an alarming speed. Hiei, jumped, appeared above the hairy limb and slashed at it; the blow only moved the arm slightly to the right, so it pounded into the ground instead of Kuwabara.

* * *

Koenma reached the door first, and slapped a hand on it. The door slowly began to rise from the floor. Yusuke raised an eyebrow. "So much for a quick exit." The sound of the entrance door crashing to the floor met their ears. Botan summoned her oar, then signaled to Kasmira. "Hop on! We'll go and get the safe house ready; head for the security office! Yusuke, Kurama, I know you'll take care of them!" The two girls sat on the paddle and sailed out a high window. 

Koenma ducked underneath the ascending door, and yelled from the other side, "Get the girls through, hurry!" At a quick nod from Kurama, Miko dropped to her knees to crawl out. At that moment, Koenma let out a surprised yelp, and a strange blur flew through the crack into the file room. The door suddenly began to close. Kurama grabbed Miko's arm and pulled her out of the way, while Yusuke seized the bottom of the door. "Koenma, what do you think you're doing?" he yelled, straining to pull the door back open. Kisa reached down and tried to help, and it looked like they would have succeeded if another blur hadn't zipped through and rammed Yusuke right in the stomach.

The spirit detective shot backwards with an astounded grunt, and the door slammed closed. Holding his stomach tightly, Yusuke scrambled to his feet. "Okay, that hurt a little. What were those things?"

Kisa's eyes darted left and right. A dark presence now brooded somewhere in the room, and Miko shivered. Kurama put his hand beneath his hair, ready to pull out his deadly rose. Yusuke clenched his fists and scanned the rows of file cabinets. "Come out and fight, you cowards!"

A shrieking laugh rang out from somewhere above them. Kurama pulled the rose out and it transformed into the rose whip. Miko only glanced at it briefly, then she looked up in the direction of the voice. Her heart pounded faster when another evil giggle pierced the air. Yusuke gritted his teeth and shouted, "What the hell is so funny!?"

"THISSS!!" crowed the voice. The four people whirled around to see a filing cabinet toppling over, headed right for them. Kisa grasped Miko's hand and they sprang out of the way, Kurama leapt upwards, and Yusuke ran and jumped out of range. The cabinet hit the floor, and files flew everywhere.

Kurama watched the two girls as he jumped, but as he landed, they were obscured from his sight by the whirling papers. He heard Yusuke yell, "Miko? Kisa? You guys okay?"  
"Kisa? Miko?" said Kurama worriedly.

* * *

Kisa grimaced from the pain that shot up her leg; she had met the ground at the wrong angle, but could still walk. Her hand was still closed tight around Miko's, who sprawled on the ground beside her. "Miko?" whispered Kisa. Miko looked up at Kisa and opened her mouth to reassure her friend she was fine. 

"Hello there, pretties," hissed a duo of sickly sweet voices behind them. Miko screamed, Kisa swore, and they were roughly pulled apart.

Yusuke saw this from his perch atop the fallen cabinet, where he had landed. "Kurama!" he yelled desperately, but as soon as he moved to go help the girls, two bright green flashes went off one after the other, temporarily blinding Yusuke. When he regained clear vision by blinking furiously, the two girls and their captors had disappeared.

Kurama saw the flashes through a cloud of papers. He gasped and ran for the source, skidding to a halt beside Yusuke, who stood staring at the ground.

"They just disappeared," said the detective disbelievingly. The papers settled around them, and Kurama sighed in genuine frustration.

"No, not teleportation powers….not in this room…"

"You're telling me," growled Yusuke. "Damn it, we'll never find them in here."

"Well, we have to try," said Kurama, jumping onto the top of a high cabinet. He called to Yusuke, "Feel for their spirit energy. We must hurry, Yusuke, or they'll take them to Hariato as soon as possible." He jumped to the top of the next cabinet, and Yusuke ran down the aisle up ahead.

* * *

Hiei traced a wide circle around the monsters, searching for a weakness. He saw one quickly. The force field around their bodies had one small flaw; it left a tiny spot of their back uncovered. He heard Kuwabara make another attempt to punch the monster's lights out, only to be thrown back again. "Moron," said Hiei, and he leapt upon the first monster in order to stab it in the back. The next few seconds saw the two other gorilla demons fall soundlessly to the floor. Hiei stood near the doorway, ignoring Kuwabara's protests of "Hey, that wasn't fair you little twerp!" and "You could have a least left one for me!" He peered through the shining force field, but found he couldn't see much besides obscure rectangular shapes. 

The sword wound given to him by Kisa suddenly blazed with an excruciating fire. He gasped in pain, gritting his teeth against the wave of nausea that hit him like a locomotive. Kuwabara lowered his arms and stared at him. "Hey, Hiei, you okay?"

"Just…shut up," muttered Hiei. _It's her. She isn't even supposed to be in that room anymore. What happened?_

_

* * *

_

Kurama found Kisa fairly quickly. "Take that, you sadistic idiot!" Her voice rang out across the library, and Kurama jumped cabinets faster.

Yusuke made a sharp left turn, and around the corner he saw a grotesque creature of purple flame standing there, glaring up at Kisa. She was perched on an empty shelf of a large bookcase, her orange eyes burning with fury. The lopsided violet demon hissed and jumped towards her. Kisa gave a small smile and pushed off in the opposite direction, sending the bookcase toppling over onto the demon. It had no time to block or escape, and shrieked as it was crushed beneath the wooden structure. Kisa landed on a giant red book that had slipped to the floor, and looked at Yusuke. "What took you so long?"

Kurama's voice floated down from above them. "Well, I guess we didn't have to worry about you, Kisa." The girl frowned up at the fox demon.

"I guess not. Have you seen Miko?"

Kurama's eyes widened. "You mean she isn't with you?"

Kisa shook her head. Panic gripped her as she whipped around to Yusuke. "You mean you guys haven't found her yet?! I haven't a clue where she went, that freak must have taken her somewhere else!"

KISA!!! Miko screamed inside her head as a flash of sickly green became her world. The teleportation lasted maybe a few seconds, but to Miko it seemed eternities. When her feet found solid ground once again, she was ruthlessly thrown down by her attacker. He stood and listened for a moment, one hand still clutching Miko's arm. Miko took a few deep breaths and knew she had to fight back. She grabbed the demon's arm with her other hand and tried to pry her arm from its grasp. He looked down with little concern and laughed. "So you are the weak one of Light, seems like. Well, easier work for me." He laughed again maliciously, then heard his partner's squeal of death. He growled fiercely as he heard Kurama's order to the others to find Miko.

"Let's hurry," shouted the kitsune. "I can sense her sprit energy strongly now…this way!"

The glowing red fire demon grinned and turned an eye on Miko. "Well, we can fix that." He dragged the terrified girl to a nearby wall and pulled her to her feet. Keeping one hand on her arm, he placed the other in the middle of her chest. Miko's blue eyes filled with tears of fright, and she closed them tightly to keep from crying. The monster smirked, then said, "You can't even fight back. Ha! Your spirit is the weakest I've ever felt in all my centuries of concealing spirit energy…and stealing it away." He chuckled quietly, then pressed his hand against her chest. "Now brace yourself. This might hurt."

* * *

Kuwabara stood staring with Hiei into the force field. "Should we try to get back in and help them?" he asked, glaring through the purple haze. At that moment Koenma appeared around the corner, running as fast as he could towards the two teammates. 

"Hiei! Kuwabara!" The 700-year old toddler stopped in front of them, forcing out words as he tried to catch his breath. "Do…you see…anything in there?"

Hiei's eyes narrowed. "What is going on?"

"I have no clue! I was opening the back door, and as soon as I was through, a sort of stealth fighter got into the file room! The door started to close on its own, and another one went through before it slammed shut! The girls are still in the room, with two of Hariato's agents!" He shook his head and looked worriedly through the barrier. "Yusuke and Kurama better be protecting them in there."

"That Kisa girl can protect herself. The other one probably won't stand a chance," said Hiei darkly.

Kuwabara suddenly grunted in pain, looking down at his ankle. Hiei said without looking at him, "And what's your problem?"

Kuwabara rubbed his ankle, examining it curiously. He grimaced as another bolt of pain shot through it. "I dunno. My ankle hurts all the sudden. I don't remember doing anything to it…" His eyes widened with realization. "Hey, Miko kicked it or something! Why it would hurt now, though, I don't know."

* * *

At first, Miko didn't feel anything. A numb sensation spread throughout her entire body, and she sensed a strange detachment from herself. She forced herself to look down at the demon's hand, which was still on her chest and now possessed a luminescent glow. Then his hand entered her, and everything changed. 

Miko had never screamed so loud in all her life. White-hot pain exploded within her, and she felt as if every inch of her was on fire. Nothing mattered now except the horrible, devastating pain.

She slowly slipped to the floor, and the demon had to stoop down in order to stay in contact and conceal the rest of her spirit energy. _But what does it matter now?! Every spirit in this accursed world can hear her…_

Kisa froze at the sound of her best friend's piercing cry. Yusuke skidded to a stop, and Kurama dropped to the ground. He drew a sharp breath, and felt his heart skip a beat.

"What could he have done to her?" said Yusuke disbelievingly. Kisa let out a strangled cry, and ran with all the speed she could muster towards the sound. "Miko!!"

Yusuke followed, and Kurama brought up the rear. He gripped his rose whip tightly, anger blossoming inside of him. _That scream can only come from one in extremely intense pain. It could destroy her._

Kisa thought of nothing else but reaching her friend, and getting her out of this insane situation. She cursed herself as she ran. _I shouldn't have turned my back on her for one second! What if I'm too late? She's hurt, and it's all my fault…_

Miko's fingers closed over the demon's arm. She couldn't stop screaming; she felt as if a part of her soul was being ripped from her. _No…this can't happen…never…_

"NO!" She yelled this word with such force that the demon lost his grip on her spirit energy for a few seconds. Once he regained it, he could now feel Kurama, Kisa and Yusuke getting closer. _Damn it…I can't conceal the rest of her spirit from them and teleport at the same time._

"No!!" yelled Miko again, tears flowing freely down her face as she gripped the demon's arm tighter. To his surprise, she slowly began to pull his hand from her body. He gritted his teeth in anger and pushed harder. Miko groaned in effort and, suddenly, her entire body began to shimmer. The fiery apparition's misshapen eyes widened and for the first time, he felt fear.

Kurama and Kisa rounded the last corner. Yusuke joined them, his spirit gun charged and ready to fire. Kurama prepared to wield his whip, but what he saw stilled his hand. He lowered his arm, and all three people stared in awe. Miko was now shining with a blinding white light, and, step by step, she steadily pushed herself and the demon away from the wall.

Suddenly, Miko threw her head back and let out another piercing scream. She forced the demon's hand from her chest, then all of the light surrounding her channeled into one dazzling beam of power. She released it just as Kisa yelled, "Miko!"

A fantastic flash of light caused all watching to look away. When they dared to turn their gazes back to Miko, her attacker had disappeared. She now stood with one hand on the wall holding herself up, staring at the ground. Her pearly white wings had sprung from her back and now hung limply at her sides.

Yusuke whispered to Kurama, "What the hell happened? Where did all that energy come from?"

Kurama answered him, "I don't know, but whatever it was, it contained triple the power that your spirit gun holds."

"What?!" exclaimed Yusuke. Kisa ran to her friend and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Miko?" she said softly. "Are you okay?" Kurama joined Kisa at Miko's side, sliding the red rose back into place beneath his crimson hair. Miko took a deep breath, and looked up to meet Kisa's eyes.

"This isn't a dream," she said in a flat tone. Her eyes closed and she fell forward into Kurama's arms. He gently picked her up and turned to Yusuke. "Her spirit is almost completely spent. She needs rest and possibly some borrowed energy…in any case, let's get her to the security office."

"What happened here?" Koenma's voice spoke from behind them. Kisa looked behind her to see Koenma, Hiei and Kuwabara. She shook her head. "I don't know, really. I guess Miko can tell you when she wakes up."

"She was too weak for a simple prowler demon, then?" said Hiei scornfully.

Kisa leaped forward and grabbed Hiei by the front of his cloak. Her eyes shooting daggers, she warned, "You better watch what you say, you idiot." Hiei pushed her hand away and met her gaze with equal annoyance. He was about to say something scathing back to her, but Koenma piped up.

"Enough of your fighting, you two! We don't need that right now. Let's get to the security office and meet up with Kasmira and Botan." He looked at Kurama "What did you say about borrowed energy?"

"I'll give her some of mine!" said Kuwabara bravely.

"I didn't think you would have much left," said Hiei without missing a beat. "You wasted most of it back there in that so-called 'fight'. Baka."

Kuwabara followed up like it was scripted. " I'll pummel you into the ground before you can say 'shrimp', shrimp!"

Kurama barely restrained himself from rolling his eyes and closed them instead, concentrating his energy into Miko's body. As the transfer took place, he felt an immense emptiness….as well as a gigantic store of untapped power. _Amazing._

The kitsune opened his eyes and met Koenma's expectant gaze. "It's taken care of. I've given some of mine to her."

Koenma nodded, then turned and walked towards the back door. "Well then, let's get her into a bed somewhere."

This has definitely been an interesting first day for those two in their home dimension, he thought as they headed out the door._ I just hope Hariato feels discouraged enough about his failure to hold off for a while._

_

* * *

_

YEM: (looks over to find all characters sleeping) Aww, how cute.  
I guess it is kinda late. The last time I woke them up to do an A.C.D., things got ugly. (tucks blanket lovingly over Hiei and barely dodges katana) Well, okay then. (yawns as Hiei murmurs something about puppies) Goodnight everybody! Please R&R!


	7. Recovery

**Disclaimer: We don't own Yu Y u Hakusho, any of its characters or other affiliates.  
**  
Sorry about the very long wait. I started school in September, then I was auditioning for Drama Club, now I'm doing crew for it, since I didn't make it. Sigh. But oh well, the musical is coming up...Go Les Miserables! And my Cult/Lit class is a lot of work, so that's why I've been idle. Please don't hurt me!  
I hope you enjoy this chapter!

* * *

Chapter 7: Recovery

Everyone gathered in the security room. As they came in, Koenma reassured Kasmira the crisis was over and sent her to her other duties.

He clapped his hands. "All right people, now that you've had a taste of what we're in for, I must make preparation with your trainers." Botan looked at him strangely. "Um, you knew they were coming, Koenma sir. So why didn't you just get a hold of these trainers while Yusuke and the others went and got them?"

"Well, I didn't think you'd make it back alive," Koenma answered, laughing. Everyone but Hiei, Kisa, and Kurama, who was currently placing Miko on a nearby couch, couldn't help themselves but to collapse at Jr's remark. Kisa started, "It's simply amazing the faith you have-"

"-In your spirit detective team." Hiei finished. The spirit world leader was not surprised by the two's sarcastic statement, but he was flabbergasted to hear them finish each other's sentences. Kurama straightened up and let out a quiet laugh. Hiei and Kisa turned in unison and gave the fox demon the same leery stare. The fire demon snarled, "What's your-"

"-Problem?" Kisa ended. Kurama's laugh grew louder and their glares became fiercer.

"I didn't notice it till now, but you two have such similar personalities and powerful psychic attributes that it seems a mental link has formed between you."

Hiei stared at the cat apparition. His lip twitched in disgust and the girl, ignoring him, gracefully brushed some of her long bangs behind her ear, tilted her head the slightest bit and the hair returned to its original position.

Jr. walked over to Yusuke. "Speaking of arrangements, I'm sure you can convince Keiko to let these two wonderful young ladies stay at her house for a few days."

"What?!" Yusuke yelled. "You're crazy! I left for four days and didn't tell her where I was going. That's bad enough. I come back with two attractive girls," Kisa shot him a sarcastic smile, "and you expect me to ask her to let them live in her house. Do you actually think she'll say 'Sure, come on over'?"

* * *

"Sure, come on over," Keiko said sweetly (This was some hours later in Ningenkai). Yusuke tripped over his feet and fell in surprise. She ran over to the two girls and looked up at Miko while taking her arm; then she gazed down at Kisa and gave her a friendly smile when she gently placed her and on her shoulder. "We'll have so much fun. I just learned to play this new card game. It's called Rich Man, Poor Man. And here are the rules…"

The cheerful brown-haired girl giggled and chatted as she led the girls down the road, leaving the four boys behind and Yusuke still sitting on the sidewalk, dumbfounded. Kurama turned to the rest of the group and advised, "Yusuke, Kuwabara, you two should go keep an eye on them." Kuwabara nodded in agreement, then stooped down to pick up the stupefied Yusuke. He threw him over his shoulder and yelled toward the girls, "Hey wait up!" Then the red-haired boy asked Hiei with a friendly smile, "Would you like to stay at my house for a while?" He simply shrugged and began to walk in the direction of the fox's den.

"Welcome," said Kurama opening the door for the short demon with a grin. Hiei glared up at him as he walked inside. The smiling boy followed and closed the door behind him; he whispered into the living room, "I'm home, mother."

"Hello Suiichi, dear." Shiori replied, sitting on the couch rocking a small baby in her arms. There was also some one else there too, but their face was blocked from view by a newspaper. The paper fell as Kurama sat next to his mother and admired the little life. "Welcome back son," said the man from behind the paper. "So, how did the school trip go?"

Suiichi looked up with a confused expression at first, but it quickly disappeared. "Oh yes, the trip. It was quite educational, if I say so myself. But mother," he said, returning his gaze to the woman, "I found a boarding program that is well taken by colleges."

"How long will you be gone and when do you leave?" was her reply to the young man.

"I fear I will have to leave in a few days and when I return is uncertain. It all depends on how fast I complete the program."

"If it's what you want dear, please go ahead." The two stared at the man across the way. "If it's educational, I don't care," he said monotonously, and his paper quickly resumed its position.

"Thank you, mother." Kurama stood, giving her a gentle kiss on the cheek. She gasped; the boy found she was looking at Hiei standing in the doorway.

"Oh I'm sorry, I forgot. Mother this is my friend…Zale; he is the one that told me of the program. He was wondering if he could stay here till it began." She first smiled up at Kurama then over to "Zale". "Any friend of Suiichi's is a friend of mine. You are most welcome to stay." Hiei gave a slight bow. The redhead bent over and whispered to his human mom, " He's a little shy." She nodded understandingly.

**

* * *

**

Keiko led Miko and Kisa to her house, Yusuke and Kuwabara in tow, making good conversation with Kisa. It surprised the part-cat demon how easy it was to get along with her. Miko would have enjoyed her company as well, if she hadn't been lost in her own thoughts.

Miko's entire body ached, inside and out, as she stood by the wall after her encounter with the fire demon. The last thing she remembered seeing was the diamond-patterned carpet of the file room swimming before her; then she passed out.

A few hours later, Miko opened her eyes, and the room slowly came into focus. She saw a large metal door nearby, with at least a dozen TV screens placed next to it. She heard a familiar voice ask, "Has the entire palace been checked for enemies?"

"Yes," answered another. "He has given up…for now. It seems that he did not put his full effort into this attack, and I'm not quite sure why."

Miko blinked groggily and tried to sit up. A hand pushed her gently back down. "Wait a minute, Miko. Koenma told me not to let you get up for a while, so cool it." Miko looked over to see Kisa sitting in a chair next to her, grinning in relief that her friend was finally awake. "How're you feeling?"

Miko shook her head and grimaced. "Like I was recently run over by a few trains. What happened?" She glanced around the room. "And who was talking before?"

Kisa gestured towards the door. "Koenma and Kurama. They just left to go get the others. Now that you're awake, I guess we're heading to Keiko's soon."

"Keiko's? But why, exactly?"

Kisa stood up and stretched. "Something about getting trainers ready. Koenma wouldn't tell me very much, no matter how hard I tried to get it out of him."

Miko sat up, smiling slightly. "You didn't use physical force, did you?"  
Kisa laughed and shook her head. "Wish I could have, but no."  
"You didn't answer my question before. What happened?"  
Kisa raised an eyebrow. "You don't remember?"

Miko shook her head, then stopped as if something heavy hit her in the face. "Maybe I do," she said quietly, her face becoming vacant. The whole thing began to replay in her head and she shuddered as she recalled the purple demon's face…the pain…and that internal power that she couldn't control. "It was so bright," she said distantly, "right before everything turned black. Something's missing now, but what is it?"

Kisa watched her carefully. "It can't be spirit power. Kurama gave you some of his, and he said the effects of the demon trying to conceal it should have worn off by now."

Miko looked up at the sound of a door opening somewhere nearby. She gazed around the room as if seeing it for the very first time. "This can't be a dream. I've figured that out by now. Hey, sorry about being stupid before," she said seriously to her friend; Kisa shrugged. And…it's interesting….now that I've realized it's all real, everything's different. It's like a mix between fantasy and reality; they're both existing at the exact same time. The show captured some small essence of it, but it couldn't ever really put it on screen." She hadn't noticed Kurama and Yusuke entering the room as she began to talk, and they now stood listening. She glanced at Kisa, still not seeing the boys. "And everybody is different. Kurama is so much, well, wiser and calmer than the show ever portrayed him. Yusuke has this interesting aura of…I don't know….fierceness hanging around him, but its balanced with this odd innocence. And I think Kuwabara is still pretty much an idiot…"

Yusuke tried and failed to cover up a snorting laugh from the back of the room. The girls turned quickly to face them. Kurama smiled. "Are you feeling better, Miko?" _It was like she was a whole different person as she spoke._

Miko looked embarrassed for a moment, then returned the smile. "Yeah, thanks," she said. Kisa rolled her eyes and stood up. "So, what's going on?"

"Well, since Miko's done with her psychological analysis," the girl blushed and glared at Yusuke, who grinned innocently back, "we're off to the Nag Queen's house."

----------------------

Now, as Miko sat on Keiko's living room couch with her, watching the boys raid the fridge for ice cream and Kisa mocking them about keeping their girlish figures, she wondered what had made her say all that. In any case, she felt sure that she had meant it.

* * *

YEM: Sorry for all the talking in this chapter...it's for character development! ( I think...) Miko's characterization is proving difficult to progress. Oh, and if you have any suggestions, email me.

Kuwabara: .....(mute from not talking for so long)  
Yusuke: Oh yeah! He can't talk! Woot!  
Kuwabara: ...(death glare)


	8. Truth or Dare

**Disclaimer:I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho or the Spirit movie.**

And I'm back. Sorry about the long neglect of this story, I've been extremely busy with everything. Then my co-writer told me she wanted to continue this, and I have some inspiration for it, so I decided to keep going. I hope you enjoy this chapter, review please! And if you have any suggestions for character development (especially Miko, I'm quite worried about her) send an email.

* * *

**Chapter 8: Truth or Dare**

"Ahhhh!" Aviva, Kurama's new baby sister, began to cry. Their parents had gone out to dinner and left Aviva in her brother's care. Although Kurama was very kind and gentle, the little girl wouldn't stop crying no matter what he did. Hiei was sitting on the sofa with his legs crossed. His patience for the loud child was growing short very quickly. "Kurama!" he yelled with his eyes closed.

A head covered in red hair popped out from behind a corner. "Yes?" he asked calmly. "Ahhhh!" The little one gave out another ear-piercing scream. The boy said, "Um, hold on," before disappearing into the other room. That was it; Hiei was now burning with rage. He just couldn't stand that annoying thing anymore. He followed his ally and found him rocking his sister gently in his arms, but it still had no effect on the crying. The fire demon stamped his foot; there was a little fire emanating from it and it singed the carpet. "Hiei!" the fox scolded. "Look Kurama, if you don't shut that thing up I might just have to kill it!" A pair of green eyes glared at Hiei.

"Well how would you feel if I killed your sister?"

The fire demon stared at him and said, "You would die a bloody, painful death."

Kurama returned his stare as if to say "you would too." Hiei diverted his eyes and silently left the house. As soon as the door closed behind him, Aviva stopped crying, giggled, and smiled sweetly up at her older brother.

* * *

"I'm bored," Kuwabara yawned. The group was sitting in Keiko's room, basically doing nothing. Kisa was lying down on the carpet on her back, with her feet propped up on Keiko's computer chair. She stared at the ceiling and sighed. "Wow, we're being very talkative, aren't we?" Miko was sitting on Keiko's guest bed, hugging her knees. Keiko sat next to her, fiddling absentmindedly with her hair. Yusuke sat cross-legged on Keiko's bed, his hands behind his head; Kuwabara was the only one standing, leaning against the wall. 

"Oh yeah," said Yusuke, "about as lively as a graveyard."

"Well, I can change that!" Yusuke fell off the bed in surprise, and everyone else turned around to find Botan standing in the middle of the room, her oar on her shoulder. "Although graveyards can occasionally be quite rowdy places." The cheerful blue haired girl smiled happily around the room as Yusuke sat up, rubbing his head.

"What are you doing here?"

"I'm here on a mission from Koenma to get this party started!" Kuwabara and Yusuke looked at each other in disbelief.

"Koenma actually cares about our social lives?" asked Kuwabara.

Botan laughed and sat down next to Miko. "Of course not, he only wants Miko and Kisa to be having fun." The boys collapsed as Botan turned to Keiko. "Hey, I have an idea! Let's play Truth or Dare!"

"WHAT?" yelled Yusuke. "Are you kidding me?" The girls giggled and pulled the boys into a circle on the floor to start the game. "Fine," grumbled Yusuke as he sat next to Keiko. "If we're going to play this stupid girly game, I get to go first." He turned to Botan. "All right then, truth or dare?"

Botan eyed him skeptically. "Well, since I don't really trust you with a dare, I'll take truth." Yusuke now had a devious look on his face. He grinned. "Okay. What is your bra size?" Botan blinked a few times. She then turned bright red, let loose a roar worthy of any A-class demon, pulled out her oar and began to fiercely beat Yusuke over the head with it. It took a while but Miko and Kisa were finally able to pull her off of him. Yusuke, his head covered in pulsing red lumps, stiffly fell backwards. Twitching, he laughed and said, "Good enough...for me..."

Botan sniffed scornfully at Yusuke, then looked at Keiko. "Keiko, truth or dare?" Keiko blushed, then said, "Um, Dare, I guess."  
Botan said without any hesitation, "You have to kiss Kuwabara!" Keiko and Kuwabara froze; Yusuke slowly sat up and fixed Botan with such an intense death stare that she blanched and said, "On the cheek, I mean!"

Miko and Kisa exchanged a disgusted look as Keiko awkwardly leaned in to Kuwabara. She closed her eyes tightly before making contact, then quickly kissed the redhead on the cheek. In her scramble to get back to her spot in the circle, she fell into Yusuke's arms and stayed there, trembling. "Oh, please don't make me do that again!"

Flustered, Kuwabara exclaimed, "Come on, it couldn't have been that bad!"

The spirit detective jumped to his feet and glared fiercely at his ally. "Shut up! If you ever think that meant anything, I swear I'll-"

"You think I would cheat on Yukina?!"

"You guys aren't even a couple!"

A wrestling match between the two boys followed immediately. The girls stared helplessly at the carnage until Miko decided to take matters into her own hands. Brushing her hair from her eyes, she grabbed Botan's oar, hoisted it high above her head and yelled, "Both of you, just STOP IT!" Yusuke saw the oar and fell back instantly.  
"Whoa, keep that thing away from me!"

Once the boys had settled down (with Kuwabara slightly exiled from the circle and Yusuke holding Keiko's hand protectively), the game resumed. "All right Keiko, it's your turn," said Botan. Keiko thought for a moment, then looked at Kuwabara. "Truth or dare?"  
Kuwabara gulped. "Um...dare?"  
Keiko pondered Kuwabara's doom for a few seconds, then giggled maliciously. "Oh, no, that would be far too mean..."  
Botan bounced on the floor excitedly. "No, no, make him do it!" Miko and Kisa nodded enthusiastically, and Keiko smiled.

* * *

Unaware of the madness within, Hiei stopped in front of a bakery. _What is this feeling? _he thought.He realized that he knew the building and sighed._This is where Kisa and the others are._ _That stupid link made me follow her scent without me even knowing it. _Hearing some noises above he looked to see Kuwabara come out onto the balcony with the rest of the group behind him. 

Out of nowhere Kuwabara threw his arms open wide and yelled, "I love kittens!" Everyone behind the boy burst into laughter. Kisa stopped short of everyone else, sensing something. She ran and peered over the side of the railing to see the fire demon, "Hiei?" she whispered.

"Hiei!" Kuwabara squeaked in surprise. He dropped his head over the side and saw the boy looking at him with a mixture of confusion and annoyance.

"You embarrass yourself enough in private, why publicize your idiocy?"

Kuwabara grew red with anger and yelled, "You shut your mouth, you little twerp!" Hiei's only response was a small "hn". Yusuke finally recovered and recognized whom Kuwabara must be threatening; he joined Kisa and the idiot and yelled over, "Hey Hiei, why don't you come up?"

Hiei turned and began to walk away but Yusuke threw his legs over the railing and landed easily on the sidewalk. "Come on Hiei, don't be a party-pooper!" Yusuke grabbed the demon's arm and dragged him inside.

"Listen detective, if you don't release me I'll-"

"Yusuke?" The two discovered Keiko's parents and quite a few customers were watching them. "Um...what's going on and how did you get outside?" Yusuke let go of Hiei's arm and scratched his head. "Well...um....you see, this is my friend...Sachi." Hiei glared at the boy while slowly edging to the door. Yusuke, seeing his small attempt to escape, he put his hand on his shoulder. "He was wondering if he couldcome up and join the party."

"Well... that's fine with me," said Keiko's father. He turned to his wife and she nodded. "Yes, that's fine."

"Great!" He exclaimed as he grasped Hiei's arm again and dragged him up the stairs.

"But Yusuke, how did you get outside?!" asked Keiko's mom.

"I went out the back door!" he yelled down. The husband looked at his wife. "We don't have a back door."

* * *

Yusuke kicked open the bedroom door and pushed Hiei inside. Stumbling, Hiei caught sight of a pair of two small feet. He scanned up the figure, only to lock eyes with Kisa. "Well nice of you to join us. We're playing Truth or Dare, do you want to play?" 

What are you talking about?

"Just sit down." Kisa ordered. Surprisingly, he obeyed and sat down across from her. After Kisa sat down he tried to speak to her and question her about this game. But she had put up a barrier so he couldn't read her thoughts. Kisa looked at Kuwabara and deaf to Hiei said, _Just like we planned_. He nodded.

"Alright Hiei, truth, dare, or the electric chair?" Kuwabara asked looking him straight in the eyes. "Electric chair?" he answered confused. _Where are they going to find an electric chair around here_? he thought to himself.

Kisa snapped her fingers to get the demon's attention. He looked up.

"Okay, now Hiei you have to do whatever Kuwabara tells you."

"I was dragged up here against my will, what else do you want?"

"We want you to sing," Kuwabara said with a big smile. Hiei gave the redhead a strange look, returned his gaze to Kisa and said, "Do you really think I would know any songs?"

The girl giggled. "Of course not; that's why we pulled some out for you to pick from." She pointed to a small pile of CDs on the bed. Hiei got up and walked over to the bed, where he stared at the stack. Kisa pulled out one of the CDs and held it up; it was the soundtrack to _Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron_. "Let's try this one," she said, handing the CD to Miko, who put it into Keiko's boom box. "There's a song on here I think you might like." Miko analyzed the player for a moment, found the skip button, and went to track four. The song, "Get Off My Back" began to play.

As the music progressed, Hiei watched the player and didn't seem too disgusted; in fact, no expression crossed his face. When the song ended, Kisa handed Hiei the CD booklet. "I never really liked the singer, but maybe you can do better." All eyes in the room turned to the fire demon as he briefly skimmed the lyrics, then tossed it behind him.

He began to tap his foot to the tempo of the song, took a deep breath, and started to sing...

Well you think you can take me on, You must be crazy  
There ain't a single thing you done, That's gonna phase me,  
Oh but if you want to have a go, I just want to let you know  
Get off of my back and into my game,  
Get out of my way and out of my brain, Get outta my face or give it your best shot,  
I think you better face the fact, Get off of my back.

Everyone was in awe. As Hiei closed his eyes and counted out the measures until the next verse began.

You know it's all just a game that I'm playing, Don't think you can find a way in,  
That's what I'm saying, Oh but if you want to have a go,  
**I just want to let you know, Get off of my back and into my game,  
Get out of my way and out of my brain,  
Get outta my face or give it your best shot,  
I think you better face the fact, Get off of my back!**

Yusuke's dumbfounded face slowly turned to a smile. Without warning, he burst into laughter again and pointed at the demon, "I can't believe it! He's actually REALLY, REALLY GOOD!" He let out another howl of giggles and laughter; Kuwabara couldn't help but join in too.

Miko gave them an annoyed look, then grinned at Hiei helpfully. "Hiei, that was awesome! You have a great voice."

"Shut up, Blondie."

Miko's face darkened. "Well, that was rude! I just gave you a compliment."

"Listen goody-two-shoes, give it up. You try too hard."

Kisa winced. _I know how much she hates hearing that. _Miko visibly (at least to Kisa's trained eyes) suppressed a yell. Hiei smirked tauntingly at her; she glared at him and looked away, hiding her clenched fists in her lap. Hiei, confident he had conquered this stupid game, shifted himself into a comfortable position. His face assumed its normal disinterested scowl.

Kuwabara turned to Hiei and said, "Okay shorty, I dared you so now you have to truth or dare either Miko or Kisa."

"Why only them?" he asked.

"Because they're the only ones that haven't gone yet."

Hiei scanned over the dark angels; first he looked at Miko, then Kisa. But he soon returned his gaze to Miko. _I could have some fun humiliating her._

A voice painfully pierced his mind, making him wince and hold his head.  
_If you ever think of hurting her, I swear you won't live long enough to see the sun rise.  
Fine then,_ he replied, slowly turning to face Kisa.Once their eyes locked he thought, _Truth or Dare.  
__I'm not afraid of you.  
__You should be.  
_"Electric chair."  
Everyone by now was extremely confused.

Yusuke could draw from the changing expressions on the two faces that they were talking to each other, although there was no way for him to know what it was they were saying. Miko knew there must be some kind of communication going on. _After all, what couldn't happen in this crazy dimension? _she said to herself, watching Hiei with a growing sense of nervousness. _I hope Kisa is careful; she doesn't mind setting herself up for danger. I wish she wouldn't do that._

Kisa cast a half-amused, half-reassuring glance at her friend. "I'll be fine, Miko_," _she said, looking back at Hiei.

"Ha!" Hiei laughed standing up. "No use in lying to the dumb blonde, if you mess up I might just kill you here and now."

The angel of darkness stood. Her red-blond bangs fell over her eyes that now flashed dangerously. "Let's see you try."

"You have to do what I say, no questions asked, correct?"

"Correct."

"Place two fingers a few inches in front of your heart." Kisa obeyed and Hiei smiled. He threw back his cloak revealing his katana. In a blink of an eye he had unsheathed it and had it resting neatly between the girl's fingers ready to pierce her heart. "Well, well...this is familiar isn't it?"

"Indeed."

"I'm going to thrust my sword at you. If you move...you die." Hiei pulled back his katana.

"When can I move?" asked Kisa.

"When I tell you, you can." The girl's eyes filled with confidence, for Kisa always loved a challenge. "Let's do this," she said with a grin. The tension grew as Hiei's spirit energy began to show itself as he prepared to attack. All the energy moved to his arm and focused on where his hand gripped the sword's hilt. Yusuke and Kuwabara had shifted to their knees, just in case something went wrong. Miko's stomach clenched in fear; as Hiei was about to throw the katana, adrenaline rushed through her.

"NO!" she yelled as she lunged forward and grabbed him around the waist, knocking him to the floor.

"Get off me, onna!" Hiei yelled trying to pry the girl's arms off him. Yusuke picked the girl up and held her back. Once Hiei propped himself up again he noticed something. "You haven't moved."

"You haven't told me I could yet."

It was true; Kisa hadn't even flinched throughout the whole thing. The only thing that was now different about her was that she had a disappointed expression. Hiei took his sword once again and placed it now against Kisa's cheek. He pulled back the katana quickly, making a few drops of blood fall on the sheets Kisa planned to use for her bed that night. Miko winced and shut her eyes; Yusuke tightened his grip on her, a peculiar look on his face, whispering something into her ear that seemed to only make her angrier.

"Well?" Hiei asked, surprised. The girl didn't have the slightest look of pain or fear on her face; in fact, she looked bored. Kisa rolled her eyes without moving her head.

"Oh, sorry..." she said sarcastically, "...ouch."

Hiei couldn't help but smile; he had never seen someone have no fear while facing him. He found a small black pouch under his cloak and pulled out a small roll of bandages. He tossed them to her; they bounced off her hand and the girl watched them fall to the floor. She looked back up at the demon and glared at him. His smile dissipated. "You can move, you idiot."

She fell backward, picked up the bandages, tore off a piece, and slapped it on her bleeding cheek. Then she closed her eyes and hugged her knees. As Kisa searched her thoughts, everyone retook their places in the circle. Miko angrily shoved Yusuke away from her, sending him onto his back; he pushed himself back up and gave her a questioning look. "Sorry," she mumbled, staring determinedly at her hands.

Kisa didn't see this and continued to think to herself, _I know Miko was only trying to help but I really wanted to show that jerk how strong I could be_. She sighed. _Oh well, for a little pay back, but mostly because I really, really want to know, I have the perfect question to ask her._

Kisa looked at her best friend, "Truth or Dare?"

"Ah....truth," she answered after a moment, not meeting her friend's eyes.

_I knew it. _Kisa thought to herself then said, "Alright Miko, what exactly happened in that dream you had in the Regents Hall?"

Miko froze and stared at Kisa. Her friend grinned. "Come on, we both know you never forget your dreams. So let's hear it!"

* * *

The blonde girl's eyes flitted around the room, as if seeking an escape route. Everyone watched her silently; Botan looked concerned, Yusuke and Kuwabara seemed confused, and Hiei's expression was one of boredom. 

_How could she do this to me? _thought Miko, averting her gaze from Kisa's eager one. _Well, she doesn't know what happened in the dream,_ answered a small voice in her head_. I guess I'll just make something up then…or I won't tell them everything._

"Uh…well, I remember flying over this pretty barren landscape, then I saw you, Kisa." Kisa nodded, interested. Miko's heart pounded as she continued. "And then, I was flying again…I heard this screaming…" Kurama's face flashed in her mind, and she shook her head slightly to submerge it. Yusuke raised his eyebrows. "What's up, Miko?"

"Nothing," she said hastily, blushing. "And then it was over and I woke up." She shrugged and smiled weakly at Kisa. "Pretty uneventful."

Kisa watched her friend's face carefully. "Um, okay. Sorry, it just seems odd that that's all that happened and you woke up screaming Har-"

Hiei was suddenly at her side, and he clapped a hand over the girl's mouth. "Baka neesan, you want to bring him down on us now?" he hissed. Kisa slapped his hand away angrily.

"Hands off, demon!" An excruciating silence followed. Hiei's eyes burned with fury and he stood up, eying Kisa with a death stare. He fingered the katana he carried and Kisa glared back defiantly. "Go on and try again. I dare you."

"Oh, how appropriate," laughed Botan nervously. "However, I do hope you won't be fighting like this for your entire mission."

Kisa looked at her. "What mission-"

"-Are you talking about?" finished Hiei. Hiei and Kisa whipped their heads back around to shoot glowering stares at each other as Botan flushed and giggled. "Whoops, wasn't supposed to mention that one yet…"

Hiei scowled and turned to the window. "I've had enough of you fools, I'm leaving."

Yusuke grabbed his arm and pulled him back down to the ground. "Come on Hiei, don't go. This is starting to get interesting."

Kisa sat back down, not making any eye contact with Hiei. Botan rummaged around in Keiko's garbage can, and Yusuke watched her quizzically. "Botan, what are you looking for?"

The grim reaper emerged, holding up a glass bottle triumphantly. "Let's play Spin the Bottle!"

The room was plunged into another long silence. The two human boys yelled, "What?" as the three teenage girls gasped, "That's gross!"

Botan laughed and said, "Nah, it'll be fun! You first, Kuwabara!"

Kuwabara shook his head fervently. "Nuh-uh, I'm not getting pulled in by any of your creepy girly tricks!"

"What the hell is Spin the Bottle? Do I even want to know?" said Hiei scornfully. Botan smiled cheerfully at Kuwabara, who pushed the bottle towards Yusuke. "You go first again, Urameshi."

Yusuke shrugged, glaring at Botan. "I'm gonna get you for this, Botan." He spun the bottle, and everyone watched in trepidation as it whirled on the floor. Yusuke glanced at Keiko and thought, _Huh. Maybe this won't be so bad if it would only land on-_

The bottle stopped abruptly, its neck pointing straight at Hiei. Yusuke yelped in horror, and everyone stared at him with a mixture of disgust and amusement. Hiei looked around, annoyed. _What does that mean?_

A knock sounded at the door, and Keiko's mother walked in. Yusuke grabbed the bottle and hid it behind his back before her gaze drifted to the group on the floor. "Excuse me, boys. But it's getting pretty late, and I think you need to be heading home, all right?"

Keiko glanced at Kisa and Miko. "Mom, is it okay if Yusuke stays over?"

Keiko's mother looked surprised, but she smiled at the dumbfounded boy. "I suppose that would be fine. Anyway, goodnight everyone." She closed the door.

Yusuke sighed in relief. "Thank God for your mom, Keiko." He threw the bottle into the garbage can. Hiei watched him, then stared at the receptacle for a moment quizzically. "Hn." _That was a stupid game._

Yusuke turned to his girlfriend. "And why is it I'm sleeping at your house?"

Keiko glared at him. "I thought that would be obvious. One of you from the team has got to be here to protect Miko and Kisa."

Kisa looked sharply at her. "Hey, I don't need this clown to watch over me."

"Then that leaves Blondie to be protected. Seems right," said Hiei smoothly. Miko threw a venomous look at the fire demon as he stood up and headed for the window. Kisa started for him, but Miko pulled her back. "Just forget it, Kisa."

Kisa glared at Hiei and sent him the message of, _Will you stop it? She didn't do anything to you._

Hiei jumped out the window without answering. Kuwabara stood up and stretched. "See you guys tomorrow," he said and walked out the door. Botan summoned her oar, mounted it, then turned to Yusuke. "We'll be contacting you somehow in the morning." She sailed out the window as Keiko left the room to get a sleeping bag for Yusuke, switching off the light as she went. Miko moved to the guest bed, and Kisa laid back on her makeshift bed on the floor. Yusuke noticed that Miko continued to stare at the window, her expression lost in the darkness.

"Miko, just forget about him. Hiei treats everyone like that, he can't be taken seriously." She didn't respond, slid under the covers,and turned towards the wall.Yusuke watched her for a moment, then shrugged and caught the sleeping bag Keiko threw at him.  
"Let's try to get some sleep," the girl yawned."It's been a long day."

Miko's mind was caught in a whirlwind of anger, an odd feeling rising in her chest. _Hiei could have killed her...I can't believe she would let him do something like that...I'll rip him apart if he ever puts her in danger again!  
_

She let out a long breath, surprised by her own vehement thoughts. There was a soft chorus of "goodnight"s around the room, in which she quickly joined before slowly closing her eyes.

* * *

For close to an hour, Miko tossed and turned. She would approach the boundaries of sleep, then suddenly draw away; it happened again and again. She opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling. _Can I just not get to sleep…or I am afraid to?_

A rustling from the center of the room drew the girl's attention to Yusuke's sleeping form. "Hmm…hey Keiko…did I ever tell you how sexy that dress looks on you?" The boy yawned and turned in his sleep as Miko stifled a giggle. She turned to face the wall, closing her eyes to attempt sleep again.

Kisa rolled over onto her stomach and put her arms beneath her head. Swimming in that warm, comforting realm between sleep and waking, she sighed contentedly.

Miko's face suddenly jumped into her mind, and her eyes snapped open. Then a stifled scream of one wakened by a nightmare sounded to her left.

Kisa sat up quickly and turned to find Miko sitting up in bed. Her friend was staring at the wall in front of her. Kisa crawled over to the guest bed and pulled herself onto it. Miko was looking straight at her, but didn't seem to see her. Kisa took a deep breath, then put her hands on her friend's shoulders and shook her a little. "Miko, look at me! What's wrong? Did you have a nightmare or something?"

Miko blinked and finally saw Kisa. Her eyes quivered with tears, and she shook her head slowly. "No, I'm…" She glanced at Yusuke, still sleeping peacefully on the floor. Her eyes grew even wider, but then she shook herself and rubbed them fiercely. "I'm fine. It was a dream. Just a dream…"

Kisa nodded, watching her friend carefully. "Um…all right. Hey, is there something you want to tell me?"

"Kisa? Miko?" Keiko's groggy voice sounded from the other end of the room. "What's wrong?"

"I…nothing." Miko ran both hands through her hair, then sighed and put her face in her hands. She looked up at Kisa and Keiko, who had stumbled across the room to join them. "I saw Yusuke. In my dream, I mean. It wasn't nearly as bad as the other one…but…"

Keiko peered at her curiously. "Yusuke? And what other dream?"

Yusuke voiced another sleepy exclamation from his place on the floor. "Kuwabara, will you shut up? Mmm, hey there, Keiko."

Keiko rolled her eyes. Miko looked at her. "Yusuke was hurt. I couldn't tell if he was dead or not, but he was hurt."

Keiko looked worried. "Oh. But it was just a dream, right?"

Miko hesitated, then nodded. She smiled at Keiko reassuringly. "Yeah. Never mind, it was just a stupid nightmare. They're pretty common for me, so it's absolutely nothing to worry about."

With Keiko and Kisa back in bed a few minutes later, Miko sighed and stared at the ceiling. She flipped over and closed her eyes. She hadn't told Keiko and Kisa the details of her dream, and they continued to flash in front of her eyes…Yusuke lying on a stretch of dark pavement…crimson blood staining his T-shirt…brown eyes staring…_STOP IT!_

Miko took a deep breath, willing herself to forget the image. _Where is my subconscious getting these things? _A moment later, she drifted off to sleep again.

_She was in Keiko's room. Everyone was there, smiling, laughing…she saw Kisa and smiled at her; her friend grinned back._

_Then suddenly the game was being replayed. Kisa stood there smirking at Hiei, who placed his katana neatly between her two upraised fingers. Miko watched Hiei as he gathered his energy…fear for her friend was driving her insane…she wanted to stop this, but she was being held back. "Yusuke, let me go, damn you!" The spirit detective whispered to her that her friend would be fine. She saw the demonic glint in Hiei's eyes as he lunged forward, Kisa's fixed smile of confidence that never wavered…His sword flew, and there was a split second of complete silence before it pierced Kisa's heart.The cat demon fell backwards, a look of surprise covering her face, blood blossoming on her shirt.Miko's own scream filled her ears, there was an explosion ofblinding blue light... all plunged into darkness._

_

* * *

_

Sorry about the ending. I changed it a bit from its original version, but I'm not sure I like it.  
Hiei: You do realize it kind of screws up your M-dream theory.  
YEM: I know! But I feel like it should be there, so I'll figure out a way to explain it later.  
Kurama: .....I miss existing outside of Miko's memories.  
YEM: Next chapter, kitsune, next chapter.

Anyway, R&R, thanks!


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